She's So Lovely
by Returntonormal
Summary: Haley was a sweet 25 year old painter and bride to be. Nathan was a spoiled twenty six year old who never worked a day in his life. When the truth comes out, Haley is left to deal with heartbreak and a debt to Nathan. Will Haley overcome these problems?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi everyone! I'm back with another light story. After the completion of **_PLL_**, I just had to write another story for you. I was going to wait and post this chapter a little bit later this month, but I couldn't wait so I decided to post the first chapter to see what you all think of it. Just like before, I have chapters pre-written already, so I'll most likely post regularly as much as I can. But since school is here, I might be a little delayed sometimes. So the second chapter might not be update until later this week or so, just so I can have more time to write more chapters so I can update daily :)

Again, I am so so so thankful for all the wonderful reviews that I have received on **_PLL_**. You have no idea how amazing you all are. I couldn't ask for better readers and reviewers. I also want to thank all the newer readers who have left reviews on there too for the wonderful words. It's really a blessing to receive all those kind words. You definitely have given me so much inspiration and motivation to continue with my writing. I can't stop reading your reviews. It's so crazy. I really hope you enjoy this story too! I couldn't wait any longer to post the first chapter, so here it is. I'm not sure how it will level up to _**PLL**_, but I will do my best!

love, Annie.

* * *

_"She's So Lovely"_

**Chapter 1 **

"Come to the art show Friday night," twenty five year old Haley stated as she attempted to hand out colorful fliers. "It's going to be amazing!" she added.

She stood outside of the _Paint Shop_, where she had been working at for the past two years. It wasn't the most famous store in the city, but she liked it. It was the closest place she could look at paintings and sculptures from all over the world. Her boss, Mr. Kim, received imports from different countries like Italy and Japan. And they were all magnificent. Being able to see the whole world right before your eyes in a painting was surreal. It was something Haley found interesting. She wanted to be able to create something beautiful like the pieces of art in the store. It was a goal she wanted to reach. Being able to create something out of nothing and have people feel something from it is amazing. But lately, Haley couldn't seem to find the right inspiration to create something meaningful. Nothing. Nada.

Plus, it was a pretty decent paying job. Since the paintings are a bit expensive, she was able to pay for some of her sister's tuition and house bills. Haley was still living with her mother and sister but just until she got married and found a decent home. Ever since her father died when she was twelve, she and her mother have been working twice as hard to make a living.

"Haley!" someone called out. She turned towards the inside of the shop and looked at the short, middle-aged Korean man struggling to bring out a large painting from the back room. "Come help!"

"Oh," she replied and quickly placed the fliers on one of the display tables. She rushed over to Mr. Kim and held one side of the painting.

"Be careful. This one expensive," he advised as they shimmied in between sculptures. "Put over there," he ordered, pointing his lips to the wall behind her.

Haley nodded and shuffled backwards until she felt something jab her in the back. "OW!" she cried out.

She and Mr. Kim slowly put the canvas on the floor and she placed her hand on her back. She groaned from the pain and looked behind her.

"You okay?" he asked.

She glared at the stone sculpture of an angel holding a bow and arrow and answered, "Yea."

Mr. Kim looked at her concerned and shook his head. "Let's turn the painting and lean it against the wall there."

"Okay," she answered and did what he ordered. They carefully moved the painting to the empty spot and set it down. Both of them slowly stepped away from the frame and observed the painting. It was strange. They couldn't tell if it was an oil painting of a vase against a desert morning or a curvaceous woman staring at a set of mountains.

Mr. Kim pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and squinted at the print. Haley looked away from the large painting and glanced at the paper he had in his hand. "It says Kool-Aid," he stated in his distinctive Korean accent.

"Kool-Aid?" Haley repeated. They glanced at the canvas again, tilted their heads and tried to find the Kool-Aid in the picture. "I don't see it," she mumbled. "Maybe it's backwards?"

Mr. Kim glanced back at the paper and shook his head. "No. This right. Blue on top. Green on bottom."

"Hmm. Whatever it is, it's interesting."

"It's art, Haley," Mr. Kim stated. He shoved the piece of paper back into his pocket and observed Haley's outfit for the day. She was wearing a gray knitted jacket over a red and white striped shirt and jean overalls. "Why you dress like that?"

Haley stopped trying to find the Kool-Aid hidden in the painting and turned to her boss. "Huh?"

"You work on a farm now?"

She furrowed her eyes and looked down at her outfit. She smoothed her hands over her jacket and chuckled nervously to herself. "No, Mr. Kim."

"Then why you wear that?"

Haley sighed deeply and remembered what her little sister told her before she left for school. _You're an embarrassment to the human race_. Her little sister, Vivian, was a snotty fashionista. She was a seventeen year old snobby brat with a very vain personality. All she cared about was popularity and cool points. And ever since she turned thirteen, she's been insulting Haley's fashion sense every waking minute. Even though it's dreadful to hear how horrible her fashion sense was every day, Haley learned how to tolerate it – from her sister at least. But hearing it from her very own boss? That was just harsh.

"It's laundry day," Haley lied and quickly turned away to the backroom of the store. Mr. Kim pursed his lips when his only employee marched away and he continued gazing at the painting.

She walked straight to the employee bathroom and observed her outfit. She smoothed her blonde hair away from her face and then adjusted her jacket. Haley sighed deeply and pouted at her clothes. "This doesn't look so bad," she mumbled.

Suddenly her cell phone began to ring in her pocket. She quickly pulled it out and recognized the name on the screen. She immediately smiled and answered the call.

"Hey future husband!" she greeted.

"Hey baby," Julian answered on the other line.

Julian Baker was Haley's boyfriend turned fiance. They had been dating for the past two years and recently got engaged six months ago. He was a charming young lawyer of Tree Hill City. He had the looks of an A-list celebrity, body of an athlete, and personality of a southern gentleman. He was pretty much perfect. Unlike everyone else in her family, he looked past her appearance and grasped the beauty of her personality. _And she was incredibly in love with him. _

Their wedding date was set for the summer of next year so wedding plans weren't set yet. They weren't in a hurry and they were okay with that. As long as they were together, that was all that mattered.

"What's up?" Haley asked.

"I just wanted to say that I can't make it to dinner tonight. It's kind of busy here at the office and I just wanted to let you know beforehand," he answered.

Haley was actually pretty excited for their date tonight. She even had a beautiful dress bought and a new pair of shoes that her sister helped her pick out. But hearing that their date was canceled, her hopes were shattered. Just a little bit.

"Oh," she began. "That's okay. Work is work, right?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I hope you're not mad?"

She laughed nervously and glanced at herself in the mirror. "I'm not mad. Why would I be?"

"Well, I knew that you were waiting for this all week since we weren't able to see each other that much. I just don't want you to get mad at me."

Again, she let out a fake laugh. "I can never be mad at my fiancé. He's too perfect."

Julian smiled on the other line and said, "I love you."

"I love you."

"I'll call you tonight or something."

"I'll be waiting," she answered. They exchanged their goodbyes and hung up.

She sighed deeply and lifted her left hand up where her diamond ring sparkled right before her eyes. "At least he doesn't insult my clothes," she stated. She washed her hands and returned to work.

**

* * *

**

Nathan sat in his father's business office as he tossed salted peanuts into his mouth. He had been waiting there for about thirty minutes for his father to get out of his meeting. He had just returned from his vacation at the Bahamas a couple of days ago and he was ready to just sleep all day every day. But unfortunately his parents had something else up their sleeves for him.

Nathan leaned over to play with the Newton's Cradle on his father's desk when he heard the door open and shut. He slowly leaned back and found his father walking in wearing his usual old navy blue business suit. He had a stack of papers in his arms when he made his way behind his desk.

"Had fun on your vacation?" Dan asked as he settled himself into his chair.

His son tossed another salty peanut in his mouth and nodded his head. "Yeah, tons."

"Well that's good. Meet anyone new?"

Nathan sighed and picked a piece off his tooth. "Some." He could tell that father was trying to make small talk. Nathan hated small talk. He liked getting straight to the point, but he knew how his father was. He had strategies. This was definitely not a welcome back visit. His father had something ready to announce to him. And Nathan wasn't sure how to handle it.

"I'm glad. You got enough rest?" Dan asked as he started rummaging through his desk drawer.

Nathan furrowed his eyes at his father's actions and licked the salt from his lips. "Dad, just get to the point to why I'm here. I have things to do and people to meet."

"Like what? Sleep and Mr. Pillowcase?" Dan replied, taking something out from his drawer and shutting it. Nathan groaned at his father's attempt to be funny and leaned back against the chair. "I think he can wait." He pushed a piece of paper across the desk towards Nathan. "Take a look at this," he stated.

Nathan looked at up at his father in curiosity and glanced at the paper at the edge of the desk. "What the hell is this?"

Dan gave his son a serious expression and said, "Just read it."

Nathan scratched the edge of his nose and grabbed the piece of paper. It was typed in MLA format with the words "Coffee Shop Construction" printed across the top. His eyes furrowed. He had no clue what this was about.

Nathan Scott was a twenty six year old man who lived a fairly good life. Since he came from a wealthy family who owned a pretty big Marketing company in Tree Hill City, Nathan was able to live in wealth and fortune. He didn't have to work so much to gain cash to buy things or wait for holidays to receive anything fancy. When he wanted something like an expensive Rolex watch or Lamborghini, he got it in a split second. He was pretty much a spoiled guy who thought he was better than anyone else.

He did go to college and gained a business degree, but that was just a waste after he graduated. His parents wanted him to start working for the company immediately, but Nathan asked for a year or two off before he would start working. But unfortunately, his break lasted longer than they wanted. And he's been playing around like he owned the place ever since.

He just scanned the rest of the paper – not even paying attention what it'said – and placed it back on the desk.

"What's this got to do with me?" he asked.

Dan let out a heavy sigh and grabbed the piece of paper. "This is a contract, Nathan."

"Contract? For what?"

"For your new job."

Nathan quickly chuckled and grabbed himself a handful of peanuts from the glass tray. "Right," he replied. "That's funny."

"I'm not kidding. This is your contract. You told us one or two years and it's been five, Nathan."

He placed three peanuts into his mouth and put the rest back into the tray. He knew this was coming. "I know, I was-"

"You got carried away, that's what happened," his father cut in. "Now it's time to work. I am not letting my twenty six year old son laze around and play with money like it's a toy," Dan stated in a serious tone.

"Is this really necessary? What if I don't want to do this?"

Dan grinned and leaned against his desk. "Your mother and I will confiscate you car."

Nathan's eyes widened at his father's words. "What?" Nathan's precious silver Porsche was his baby. He took care of it like it was his own child. If there was even a scratch on it, he would demand someone pay a thousand dollars to repaint the whole car. It was that meaningful to him. And having it taken away is almost life threatening to Nathan. "You can't do that."

"Um, from what I recall, we bought you that car and we can take it away too."

Nathan's jaw tightened and swallowed the rest of the peanuts in his mouth. "Geez, dad."

"Get your car taken away or accept this job. It's either/or."

He sighed deeply and leaned forward against his knees. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to calm himself down. He couldn't even imagine not having his car. He lifted his head up and glanced at his father who happened to be waiting for his response with a mischievous grin on his face. "What do I have to do?"

Dan nodded with pleasure and glanced at the contract. "We're setting up this new coffee shop near downtown. There's this vacant building that needs some cleaning up and construction." Nathan immediately made a disgusted face and shook his head. "And we want you to be the start of this new business. It's only going to be a small coffee shop, but we want it to be successful."

"So you want me to lead this whole coffee business?"

"Yep," Dan answered as he grabbed a pen from his cup at the corner of his desk and placed it next to the contract. "You're the new owner of the coffee shop."

Nathan's attitude suddenly changed. He smiled and said, "So I'm the boss and I get to tell people what to do?"

"Mmmhmm," Dan replied, noticing that his son was slowly giving in. "But you have to run the place the_ right_ way. Just because you're the boss doesn't mean you can run it any way you want. We still have a name to maintain."

"That's fine with me as long as I get to be the boss," Nathan grinned. He picked up the pen and slid the contract closer to him. He was ready to sign his name at the end of the document when his father interrupted him.

"There's another thing you need to know."

"And what's that?"

"You're not the only boss," Dan stated.

"Huh?"

**

* * *

**

Right after work, Haley bought some food from the local market – some French sandwiches and soda. When she stepped inside their townhouse, she noticed that her little sister's school bag wasn't hanging off the hook near the entrance. Haley's eyes furrowed as she walked towards the kitchen where her mother was sitting at the table, sewing up a dress she had been working on for the past week. Her mother worked as a local tailor, so anybody who needed anything hemmed, hand made, or measured, she was the go-to lady.

"Where's Vivian?" Haley asked as she placed the plastic bag of food on the counter.

Her mother, Lydia, looked up from the sewing machine and took a moment to think. "Hmm, I think she told me she was going out to eat with a friend."

Haley turned to her mom and looked at her in disbelief. "Did she say which friend? Cause if she's with that raunchy Whitney again I refuse to let her enter the house."

Lydia laughed. She continued sewing up the dress and she shook her head. "She just said she'll be back later."

"Mom!" Haley called out.

"What?"

"You're supposed to know where your own daughter is and who she's with," Haley said, removing the sandwiches and soda from the bag.

"It's hard to tame that child with her personality," Lydia replied, removing her foot from the sewing pedal. She snipped off the thread with a pair of scissors and tied a little knot at the end of it.

Haley groaned and opened a can of grape soda. As she was about to take a sip from it, her little sister came rushing into the house, scaring Haley half to death. And she began choking on the acid from the drink.

"Vivian!" Haley managed to call out, grape soda dripping from her chin onto her gray sweater.

"Eww!" Vivian remarked, glancing at her older sister's sticky face. "You're still wearing that?"

Haley glared at her sister and grabbed a paper towel to wipe the soda from her chin. "Why did you have to walk in like that? I almost had a heart attack."

"Sorry, but it was an emergency," Vivian replied as she strode across the kitchen to grab Haley's wrist.

"What are you doing?" Haley questioned as her sister dragged her to the door.

Lydia looked at them curiously and stood up from the chair, placing the unfinished dress on the table. "Where are you going?"

"We have to hurry!" Vivian demanded as they made their way out the door.

Haley grew confused as her sister led her into taxi that was waiting at the end of their driveway. "What the hell?"

Lydia stood by the door, wondering what was going on and watched as Vivian shoved Haley in the backseat of the taxi. She climbed in as well and the car jetted off, leaving their mom dumbstruck.

From inside the taxi, Haley struggled to sit up and glanced out the window. She felt something fury underneath her foot and realized that her shoe had fallen off and she was touching the rug of the taxi. She glanced at her sister in curiosity and grabbed her shoe from the floor.

Placing her shoe back on, she hit her sister on the arm. "Ow!" Vivian yelped, rubbing her arm.

"What the hell is going on? Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Vivian answered with her neck craning over to see the road.

Haley huffed when she figured out that her sister wasn't going to tell her their destination, so she leaned over the shoulder of the taxi driver and asked, "May I ask where we're going?"

"Rosetta's Italian Restaurant," the young man answered as he turned right at the green light.

Haley leaned back, confused and turned to Vivian. "Why are we going there?" she asked. Then she noticed a small baseball bat lying behind her back. "And why is there a baseball bat behind you?"

Vivian looked away from the road and glanced at the wooden bat. "Oh, that? You're going to need it."

Still completely puzzled, Haley scratched her head and asked, "For what? Are we going to play baseball at the restaurant?"

Vivian sighed deeply, obviously annoyed by her sister's lame jokes and finally said, "Julian's there."

"You're such a kidder. He can't be. He's at work."

"That's what he told you?" Vivian laughed in disbelief. "What a douche."

"Hey!" Haley exclaimed slapping her sister in the back of her head. "Don't talk about your future brother-in-law like that!"

Vivian's jaw clenched and touched the back of her head. "Hurry up, Anthony!"

"I'm trying," the driver replied as he stepped on the gas pedal even harder.

"Anthony?" Haley questioned. "You know his name?"

"Don't think anything of it," Vivian advised.

"How the hell do you know the name of the fuckin' taxi driver?"

"Calm your ass down," Vivian stated. "He's a friend of mine. He's using his dad's taxi car."

Haley's eyes widened and quickly jumped forward to observe the boy's face. He hardly looked of age. He had acne scars on his chin and beads of sweat developing on his forehead. "How old are you?" she asked.

"Seventeen," he answered, nervously.

"Does your father know that you have his car?" Haley asked inches away from his face.

Anthony slowly grew nervous with Haley utterly close to his face. He never had a girl that close to him before besides his own mother. And since Haley was pretty attractive, it made him really insecure.

"No," he answered.

"Damn it!" Haley exclaimed, jumping back into her seat next to Vivian. "Turn around and bring me back home!"

"NO! KEEP DRIVING!" Vivian yelled.

"Vivian!"

"HALEY!"

"Why are you doing this? I don't understand."

"Your fiancé is cheating on you," Vivian retorted.

Haley stopped for a moment and let out an unconvincing laugh. "Right," Haley said slowly. She turned to Anthony and softly stated, "Please turn around."

"Umm," he began. He looked up at the rear view mirror and found Vivian giving him a death glare. "Sorry, I can't."

"I'm like eight years older than you. I demand you to turn back around and bring me home or I'm calling your father!" Haley threatened.

Anthony swallowed the lump in his throat and continued driving. He didn't say anything in response, but when he looked up at the rear view mirror and found Haley leaning forward, he began to panic.

"If you're not going to stop, I'm going to make you stop," Haley stated, reaching over to grab the wheel.

"Vivian, help!" Anthony cried.

"HALEY!" Vivian yelled, reaching over to grab Haley's collar to pull her down. "You're going to get us killed!"

**

* * *

**

Nathan grabbed his glass of whiskey and downed it. After his little meeting with his father earlier, he'd been having a pretty rough day. He wasn't sure how he could manage a coffee shop. It seemed pretty easy just imagining it in his head, but the technical stuff was the hard part. Honestly, Nathan was pretty scared. He wasn't that experienced with the business nor was he ready to work. He wasn't prepared enough.

"So you're an owner of an upcoming coffee shop?" his friend, Tim Smith, laughed.

Tim was one of Nathan's closest friends. He was also from a wealthy family who worked for Nathan's parents at the marketing company. Back in the day, Nathan, Tim and their other friend Clay formed a trio at the elite high school they attended. A pretty popular trio. All the girls wanted to date them and all the boys wanted to be them. They were rich and handsome, but they were snotty and bossy to everyone who tried to stand up to them. Their little trio owned the school until they graduated. But ever since college, their fame faded and their popularity no longer mattered anymore.

Nathan gave him a look. "What's so funny?"

Tim shook his head and took a sip from his glass. "I just . . . I can't see you_ actually_ working."

"You don't think I can do it?"

"No, I think you can. It's just hard to imagine."

Nathan licked his lips and grabbed a bread stick from the basket in between them. He chewed a piece off and turned around to examine Rosetta's Italian restaurant. "If I want to keep my car, I'll have to work," he said."

"So this is over your precious Porsche?" Tim questioned.

"They threatened me with it. I couldn't let them take my baby away," Nathan answered, chewing on a piece of bread. "I'll do anything to protect that car."

"You're obsessed with that car, you know that?"

"Hey!" Nathan retorted. "If you had a relationship like me and Porschia, you'd understand," he joked.

Tim let out a laugh and turned to the side when he noticed an extraordinary attractive girl walking out from the bathroom. She was thin and tan with long light brown hair and wore a short black dress.

"Oy mami!" Tim called out, whistling at the woman. She turned their way and lightly winked at him before she found her seat across a man wearing a nice suit. "Damn," Tim complained.

Nathan glanced at the couple and then observed Tim's disappointed expression. He laughed and patted his back for comfort. "It's okay, buddy. There's more fish in the sea."

Tim grabbed a handful of breadsticks and stuffed them in his mouth. "Why is every girl I like taken?" he mumbled through the breadsticks.

"It's not meant to be, man," Nathan stated.

"So when are you going to start this whole coffee business?" Tim asked, removing the breadsticks from his mouth.

"I don't know," Nathan shrugged as he signaled the bartender to give him another glass of whiskey. "Sometime next week. I have to meet up with my . . . _business partner_." He groaned and crossed his arms against the bar.

"Business partner?"

"Yeah. Apparently, I'm not the only one who's going to manage the coffee shop." The bartender came by with a bottle of whiskey and poured Nathan another glass.

"That sucks ass," Tim commented.

"It's probably some old geezer my dad hired."

"Since my parents cut me off their moolah until the end of time, you think you can help a friend out?"

Nathan pulled the glass up to his lips and looked over at Tim before he took a sip. "As in?"

"As in hiring me as some kind of waiter or something."

"Don't you have a job already?"

"I quit a while back."

"I'll think about it," Nathan grinned before finally drinking the whiskey.

**

* * *

**

"You almost killed us!" Vivian exclaimed, as they parked right in front of Rosetta's Italian restaurant.

Anthony was up front in the driver's seat hyperventilating into a paper bag that he found in the glove box. He couldn't handle the swerving on the road and absolute chaos in the car. It was too much for a seventeen year old boy to handle. Since Anthony looked pretty fragile, Vivian made sure to be careful next time.

Haley still couldn't believe her own little sister kidnapped her from their house and shoved her into a taxi car that a teenage boy was driving without permission. She groaned and climbed out of the car in frustration.

Vivian observed her sister outside and then glanced at Anthony up front. She could tell that they seriously damaged the kid. She didn't think it would end up this way. Anthony was actually a nice guy who just happened to like Vivian a lot. And she took advantage of it.

"Are you okay?" she questioned, observing the paleness of the frail boy.

Anthony nodded his head and signaled a thumbs up at her. Vivian nodded. Then she quickly grabbed the baseball bat and followed her sister out into the parking lot.

Haley didn't want to believe it when her sister told her that Julian was cheating on her. She trusted him with her whole life and she knew that he would never do anything to hurt her. He was just telling her earlier today that he didn't want her to be mad at him. He even said it in the most sincere way possible. Julian was too good to be known as a cheater.

_Vivian's just being a troublemaker like she always is, she thought._

And she continued walking across the parking lot with her arms crossed. She glanced at the restaurant window, hoping to not see anything of Julian cheating of some sort. But unfortunately, her dreams did not come true.

Vivian jogged after Haley who stopped walking in the middle of the parking lot. She realized that she was staring into the restaurant where she found Julian and a brunette sitting together at a table.

Haley's anger towards her little sister slowly faded when she felt her heart ache in her chest. She swallowed the lump in her throat and examined the man in the dark suit - the familiar man she once believed would be her future husband. Right across from him sat one of her good friends and bride's maid – Alex Dupre.

She never thought she'd ever see the day where he sister was right. Haley had never felt this much pain before in her life. It was the hardest thing to break up with someone, but seeing the person you were about to get married to cheating on you right before your eyes was the worst thing you could possibly imagine. She couldn't believe that Julian would do something like this to her. After two years of dating and six months of blissful engagement, he had the nerve to go out parading his love to another woman out in public.

Vivian could tell that Haley was severely damaged by the sight in the window. Even though she and Haley didn't get along that well, she didn't want her sister to get hurt like this. When she was coming home from eating dinner with Anthony and a couple of other people, she saw Julian walk into that restaurant holding another woman's hand. And she wanted to tell Haley immediately. Haley had the right to know about this. Vivian was not going to keep this a secret from her sister. So she forced Anthony to back home and pick Haley up.

"You weren't kidding," Haley whispered as she stared longingly at the couple who were now holding hands across the table.

"I told you it was an emergency," Vivian stated, slowly making her way next to her sister.

Since the parking lot was pretty far from the restaurant, Julian was unable to see them in the dark. But Haley could see them clearly through the window.

"I can't believe this," Haley stated in disbelief. "He told me he was going to be busy at work. I didn't think he'd be busy with one of my bride's maids."

Vivian glanced at her sister's angry expression and happily showed Haley the baseball bat. "Lookie here, I have a baseball bat."

Haley's eye twitched from the frustration building inside and glanced at the wooden bat beside her. "What am I going to do with that?"

"Beat the living day lights out of that bastard?" Vivian suggested with a smile.

Haley glanced back at the restaurant and noticed Julian pull her friend's hand up to his lips and kissed it. Quickly, her blood began to boil and she snatched the baseball bat from her sister's arms. "That son of a bitch!"

Vivian jumped in glee and began clapping. "Yay! Finally some action!" she cried out. "So, what's the plan, sister? Are we going to hide behind the entrance and hit him until he's unconscious or should we hurt the girl?"

"No, we're going to destroy his car bit by bit," Haley stated through her teeth.

"His Porsche!" Vivian questioned. "You can't destroy a perfectly good Porsche!"

"I can if it belongs to Julian 'Dumbass' Baker," Haley answered as she quickly turned around to find the familiar silver car she got acquainted with ever since they started dating.

Anthony finally found enough oxygen and placed the wrinkly paper bag on the passenger seat beside him. He then glanced outside and noticed the two girls who were once fighting in the back of the car browsing around the parking lot with a baseball bat. His eyes immediately widened and he grabbed the paper bag and started blowing into it again.

Haley craned her neck to check for a familiar, silver Porsche and finally found it. It had a banana decoration hanging on the rear view mirror and she just knew that it was Julian's. She raised the bat above her head, ready to bash the windows, when she felt her sister grab her hand.

"Wait!" Vivian called out.

"What?"

"How do you know if this is really his?"

"It is, Vivvy," Haley answered angrily. "He has a banana hanging on his rear view mirror.

Vivian felt herself grow nervous and shrugged. "I better hope so," she stated.

"I know so."

**

* * *

**

"You need a ride home?" Nathan asked as he and Tim walked out of the restaurant.

"Yeah, if you don't mind, man," Tim replied.

"No problem."

They both headed towards the parking lot when Nathan pulled his keys out of his pocket. From afar, they could hear a car alarm blaring and fading out. They both grew curious and started walking towards the sounds since Nathan parked his car near that area. He started praying that it wasn't his car that was making that noise, so they both hurried towards the scene. As they finally reached the parking lot where Nathan's silver Porsche named Porschia was, they couldn't believe their eyes.

There were two girls near his car and one of them was damaging it with a wooden baseball bat. The other one was jumping and rooting the girl on like she was competing in a boxing tournament.

"This feels so good!" Haley exclaimed as she hit the windshield.

"Isn't that your car?" Tim questioned, wincing at the sight of the bat hitting the Porsche continuously.

Nathan's eyes widened, ignoring Tim's question and ran as fast he could towards the girls. "HEY!" he called out in worry.

Vivian turned away from Haley's angry rampage and glanced at the men who were running towards them. "We have company," she stated.

"What?" Haley questioned as she stopped hitting the windshield with the bat. They both turned to the two brown haired guys running over to them.

"What the hell are you doing with my car!" Nathan screamed.

Both of the sisters' hearts suddenly dropped and they quickly turned to each other. Even though hitting the Porsche she thought belonged to Julian made her feel good, Haley suddenly felt incredibly nauseous about what she had done. Vivian felt the same feeling in her stomach and grabbed her sister's wrist quickly. But before they could run off like the speed of lightning to escape the scene, Tim grabbed their arms and dragged them back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tim questioned.

Nathan slowly walked up to his incredibly damaged car and bent down against the bumper. He hesitantly touched the broken head light and clenched his fist into a ball.

"Porschia," he cried. "My precious, beautiful Porschia!" Nathan whispered angrily.

Haley winced at the sound of the strange man's cries and felt a heavy pressure against her chest. "I'm so sorry!" she stated.

Vivian shot her a look as if that was the stupidest thing she could say. Haley just damaged some random guy's expensive car on purpose. An apology wasn't good enough.

"Sorry?" Nathan questioned with his back towards them. Haley watched as the attractive man slowly stood up from the gravel floor. She could tell that this man was not happy – not even an atom of his living body was smiling at this moment. "You're sorry? How could you be sorry when you just destroyed my fuckin' car!"

Haley winced again at the tone of the man's voice. She placed both of her hands on the side of her face in disbelief.

"We thought it was someone else's car," Haley tried to say again.

"You just ruined this man's life," Tim stated.

Vivian glared at the guy and roughly removed her arm from his grasp.

"We'll make it up to you!" Vivian suggested.

"What?" Haley snapped. She quickly shuffled towards her sister and whispered, "How can we make this up to him?"

"You two can afford a Porsche?" Nathan questioned, glancing at the outfits of the two girls. One was wearing a stained gray sweater with overalls and the other one was wearing a black and white uniform. He scoffed and shook his head. "You tweens can't afford a car this expensive. Especially _my_ car."

Haley noticed how the guy was looking at them up and down and she quickly placed her hands on her hips. She wasn't the type of person who would destroy someone's car on whim nor was the type who stood up to people – especially wealthy people, but she found herself doing it anyways. Her little sister was definitely not a good influence on her.

"Tweens? Sir, for your information, I am a grown twenty five year old woman."

"And I'm a grown seventeen year old . . . teenager," Vivian cut in.

Haley shot her sister a death glare and quickly turned back to Nathan.

Nathan's jaw tightened and lifted his eyebrow at her. "Twenty five or seventeen, it doesn't matter. You destroyed my car," he stated, angrily.

"We'll pay for the damages, okay? We're deeply sorry. We made a mistake. I thought this was my fiance's car and I found him cheating on me and –"

Nathan held his hand up to her face, causing her to stop talking. "Don't continue. I don't care about your reasons."

Haley's eyebrows lifted, stunned by the maneuver of his hand in front of her face. Vivian leaned in and whispered, "I asked you if this was really Julian's car and you were like _I know so blah blah blah_."

"I thought _it was_," Haley roughly whispered back.

Nathan and Tim began to observe the damages on the car. The hood was dented. The windshield was nearly shattered. One of his side mirrors was knocked off and both of his headlights were destroyed. Nathan cringed at the sight of his baby's condition and tried to find some composure. He couldn't believe a woman her size could do so much damage to his car. It was unbelievable how the only reason why he took the job to work for the family business was his car. And now he no longer had a car to protect. It was a lose-lose situation.

"What are you going to do?" Tim asked, picking up the side mirror from the gravel.

Nathan glanced at the car piece in his friend's hands and almost cried, but he held it back. "I'm going to call the cops on them," he stated through his teeth as he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"Wait! What did you just say? You're calling the police?" Haley called out from behind them.

The guys slowly turned to them, Nathan obviously angry by the damage she's done to his car. "Yep."

"Please don't call the cops. We'll take care of this," Haley stated. "We'll pay for the damage."

"We?" Vivian questioned, turning to her sister in surprise.

"Yes, _we_," Haley answered. If Vivian hadn't given her the baseball bat, she wouldn't have gotten themselves in this situation.

Nathan shoved his phone back into his pocket and walked up to the ladies with his arms folded across his chest. "You're willing to pay for the damages?"

"Of course. We did this. We should take responsibility," Haley answered. "Instead of getting the po po involved, let's resolve it ourselves."

"You know, you're not just paying for the damages."

"What do you mean?" Haley questioned.

"I'm saying that you're paying for a whole new car," Nathan answered, slowly like she was retarded.

"You want us to WHAT!" Haley exclaimed with a wild expression.

"I think he said that you were buying him a brand new car," Tim answered with a grin.

Vivian glanced over at the shorter guy and made a disgusted face.

"No no no, way! I'll pay for the damages but I'm not buying you a whole new car!" Haley exclaimed.

"That's the only way you can repay me."

"You have got to be kidding me!"

"I'm not," Nathan replied with a serious face.

"This is ridiculous."

"No, what you did to my car is ridiculous!" Nathan retorted.

Haley glared at the guy but then glanced at the car that looked like a wrinkly piece of foil and softened her eyes. She sighed deeply and placed her hands on her hips as she tried to soak in all the emotions that were overpowering her. First she found out that her fiancé's been cheating on her and now she has to deal with someone's car that she damaged. _Wonderful, this is just wonderful_, she thought.

"Fine," she stated. "We'll pay for a whole new car if that helps erase this whole situation."

"Good."

"How much is your car?"

"120k."

Both Haley and Vivian's eyes widened at the amount of money they owed him. That was so much money. There was no possible way she could afford to pay for a new car with her _Paint Shop_ salary and her mother's tailoring business. She couldn't even buy herself a nice car of her own much less buy someone else one. It was impossible especially when they had enough bills to pay and Vivian's school tuition.

Haley felt herself struggling with her breathing and she blacked out. She quickly fainted into her sister's arms, shocking everyone in the process.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Hi everyone! I'm back with another update! Thank you thank you for all the wonderful reviews. It's nice to see some from familiar people again. You guys are so freaking amazing. I love it. I'm so glad that I was able to make some of you laugh at the first chapter! hehe.

**Camilla** - That totally stinks. If only it was his car lol but good thing your principal was kind enough to let you off the hook. And thank you for the wonderful comment! It means a lot! I'm so glad that you loved PLL. I didn't think it would be that successful. I hope that this will meet up with it's success. Thank you again** Kate** - AGHHH! I was so so so excited to see your review. Seriously! I was so happy! Your words are so flattering. I will kindly accept all your compliments. I love the fact that I'm your favorite fanfic writer! You have no idea how happy that makes me. eek. I'm hoping that I can "keep [you all] addicted, make [you all] laugh, make [you all] squeal in embarrassment and jealousy when cute things happen, and keep [you all] on the brink of anticipation for the next chapters." I really hope I can do that with this story. I'm also very excited to read more from you as this story progresses. Thank you so much again! **23bNrAuLcEaYs- **OMG! That is very creepy! I guess it was meant to be. Since you were wanting to read my story again, fate was telling you that you didn't need to since there was another story coming out! lol Maybe. . . maybe not. But that is very weird I'll tell you that. And I'm super glad that you loved it! Yeah Vivian does kind of have Brooke's personality, but unfortunately Brooke and Lucas will not be making an appearance. But Jake will. So hopefully you will still tune in! Thank you again! :) **KTxx -** Aww I'm glad I was able to make your day better with my story. And ha that's funny how you say that you like Julian here and he's the bad guy. But I'm glad to hear that even the "bad characters" are likable also. Thank you again!** Christina** - Aww Christina, I'm so so sorry! I know that I promised to finish _Steadfast_. I've been trying to write but nothing seems to be coming out! I will finish it for you though. Maybe I'll post in between updates. It's on a temporary hiatus right now, but I will get to it! I hope you don't hate me :( Anyways, thank you for the review deary! And to everyone that I missed out, thank you for the welcome backs and the nice nice words! I appreciate them all. They always keep me motivated to continue.

**That's a long author's note, I know! I tend to ramble, so you can skip that part if you like. ^_^**

I hope you all like this new chapter! :)

-Annie

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know. It's been a while."

"Is hearing 120k that hard to handle?"

"I can't breathe!"

Haley wasn't sure what was going on. She could hear familiar voices and heavy breathing, but she couldn't see anything at all. Not even a color or a light – it was just blank as if nothing was even there. Then suddenly she felt someone pull her eyelid open. She furrowed her eyebrows and slowly regained her vision. And when everything was clear again, she found her younger sister kneeling down next to her with her hands on her knees, the two angry men by her feet staring at her without a care, and Anthony standing on the side heaving into the wrinkly paper bag.

Anthony pulled the bag away from his mouth and sighed deeply. "She's awake, thank God!"

Haley sluggishly sat up from the gravel floor and shook her head to wake herself up. "What just happened?"

"You fainted," Nathan stated, looking at her with a serious expression. He had his hands inside his pockets as he observed her condition. "You okay?" he asked, dryly.

She could tell that Nathan wasn't affected by her spontaneous fall. And she was right. Nathan thought it was just something she thought out of whim to make him pity her. But he wasn't buying it especially after what she did to his precious Porschia.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. She quickly looked up and noticed the wrecked vehicle behind him. At first, she thought it was just a dream, but when she saw the broken car right in front of her eyes, she figured that it wasn't a dream at all. "Damn it," she mumbled.

"Yea, _damnit_!" Nathan called out. "You think fainting will make me change my mind about you paying me for a brand new car?"

Haley scoffed and looked at the frustrated man. "I didn't faint on purpose!"

He let out a soft chuckle. "I'm not stupid."

"Apparently, you are," she shot back.

Nathan's eyes widened at the insult and folded his arms across his chest. "What did you just say?"

"I said that you're stupid."

Tim could see Nathan's jaw tighten and he knew immediately that his temper was boiling. After knowing Nathan for so many years, Tim knew his temper. The vein in his neck would pop out, his temperature would rise, and his attitude would be cold for days. So Tim quickly stepped forward and tried to calm him down.

"She's just kidding," he stated, placing his hands on his shoulders to relax his tense muscles.

"No, I'm not," Haley corrected. "I didn't faint on purpose just so I could get away with this mess. The amount of money just shocked me. 120k may not be a lot of money to you, _Richie Rich_, but it is to us. My faint heart couldn't take it, so give me a break!"

"It's _Nathan_," he corrected.

"Nathan. Richie. Same thing," Haley replied as she pushed her self up off the gravel parking lot and stood up.

Nathan rolled his eyes at the woman's dry humor and looked at her in disbelief. "You still owe me one hundred twenty thousand dollars," he stated.

"And we will find a way to give you all the money you need," Haley stated.

"Stop saying _we_!" Vivian whispered roughly next to her.

Her older sister quickly nudged her with her elbow and focused her attention back to the men. Although she was still a little light headed from her fall, Haley was able to find composure to deal with the problem.

"But it might take us a while to give you the money. We're not exactly wealthy people," Haley continued.

Vivian's eyes widened and nervously smiled. "We're not poor though. We _are not_ poor!" she emphasized, trying to spare them some embarrassment. Wrecking his car and having Haley wear the most horrid outfit in the world was bad enough. She definitely didn't want them to think that they were poor.

"What are you doing?" Haley questioned, curiously.

"Nothing," Vivian answered, looking at her sister with wide eyes. "I'm just telling them that _we're not_ poor," she continued as she turned to the boys with a promising smile.

"I'll give you two weeks to give me the money or I'm suing you," Nathan stated, ignoring the younger sister.

"Two weeks?" Haley repeated.

"Suing?" Vivian questioned.

"Did I stutter?" he replied. Haley groaned and shook her head. He scratched the back of his neck and asked, "What's your name again?"

"Haley James," she answered.

He pulled out his phone and prepared to add a new contact. Then he handed it to her and demanded that she enter her name, number, and address just so he could keep in contact with her. He wanted to make sure he wasn't dealing with a female criminal.

Haley roughly grabbed it and typed in her all of her information. Whoever this person was, she already didn't like his snotty attitude. Pay for a whole new car? Was this man crazy or what? She knew that she did something wrong for ruining his car, but to buy a whole Porsche that she he probably knew she couldn't afford was harsh. Just harsh!

"Two weeks, lady," he repeated before placing his cell back into his pocket. "Come on, Tim." They both headed back towards the restaurant, leaving the damaged Porsche in the parking lot.

Haley and Vivian looked at them curiously. "You're just going to leave your car here?"

Nathan stopped and looked over his shoulder. "What can I do with _that_ car? It's broken. All thanks to you."

"But you can't just leave it here."

"I can and I will. Just like when you decided to damage it." Haley sighed heavily with guilt stinging her insides. _That hurt._ "You can do whatever you want with it. I don't need it anymore since I'm getting a brand new car soon."

He smirked and turned back around to enter the restaurant. They were just going to call a friend to come pick them up or a ride a cab to bring them back home.

The girls watched as the two men disappeared into the restaurant where Haley's ex-fiance and ex-friend sat. After they left, Vivian grabbed Haley by the shoulders and asked, "How in the world are we going to find 120k in two weeks?"

"I don't know," she answered roughly, still hurt from the sight she saw earlier.

"How are we going to tell mom about this? She's going to kill us!"

Haley totally forgot about their mother. She was probably worried sick right now. They left the house without an explanation. Their mother had already dealt with enough problems especially with Vivian as a daughter. And Haley certainly didn't want their mom involved with any of this.

"If it weren't for you and your stupid baseball bat idea, we wouldn't have gotten into this mess!" Haley complained, turning back towards the taxi cab.

"Me? You were the one who wanted to damage Julian's car. I wanted to hit him unconscious!" Vivian retorted, walking after her sister.

Anthony continued breathing through his paper bag and followed the girls as well. "Hey! Wait for me!"

**

* * *

**

"So when are you going to tell her?" Alex asked as she sliced a piece of her chicken.

"I'll tell her next week after the art show. I don't want her to be depressed during work," Julian answered.

"Aww how sweet of you to think of her feelings," Alex smiled. "But I think it's a good idea to tell her after the gallery show too. We both know that Haley's not really good at handling big news. We can't have her walking around light headed at the shows."

"I know," Julian replied, sipping from his wine glass. "She has a really sensitive heart. That's why I'm trying to be careful. I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"Did you really say that?" Alex laughed. "If you didn't want to hurt her feelings, you shouldn't have fallen in love with me."

Julian smirked as he grabbed a piece of his steak with his fork and placed it in his mouth. "You know what they say. You can't help who you fall in love with."

"You're so charming!" Alex complimented. "No wonder I fell for you. I'm sure that's the reason why Haley did too."

"Yeah," he answered softly.

Deep inside, Julian felt guilty. He truly did. Although, his love for Haley had faltered, he didn't want her to hate him or be mad at him. It wasn't his decision to fall in love with one of Haley's bride's maids. It just happened. After one drunken night at the club, Alex was fortunately there to take care of him. He woke up the next morning only to find her preparing waffles and orange juice on the coffee table next to him. Something about Alex drew him towards her. He wasn't sure if it was her beauty or her elegance, but whatever it was, he was attracted to it. She had something that Haley didn't. Alex was womanly and mature. And he liked that about her. But he felt ashamed for putting Haley in the position she was in -the bride-to-be with a fiancé who's in love with another woman. Nobody wants to be that girl. And no matter how awful he felt about loving someone else, he didn't want to hurt her.

**

* * *

**

When Haley and Vivian returned to the house, Haley couldn't stop thinking about the reason why she was rushed to the restaurant. Watching her fiancé holding one of her best friend's hands and kissing it was probably the worst thing a bride-to-be could see. No one wants to see their future husband getting cozy with one of their bride's maids. Maybe some wouldn't mind it especially if they were in an open relationship, but not to Haley. Haley's heart just couldn't take it.

"Mom that's what happened," Vivian finished telling her the events of that night as Haley slowly started walking down the hallway to her room. "I knew that Julian was a douche bag this whole time," her sister added.

Lydia stopped sewing the dress and sadly watched her eldest daughter look down at the ground as she walked down the hall. "Honey," she called out.

Vivian stepped forward and touched her mother's arm. "Mom, don't," she said. "She's heart broken."

Their mother sighed as Haley entered her bedroom and shut the door gently. Lydia was so happy for Haley's engagement. She was excited to her walk down the aisle with the man she loved. Julian was such a good guy. He would come over and help cook dinner sometimes or even make breakfast when Haley was sick. He'd even visit the house even if Haley wasn't there just to spend time talking to her about old times. But now, Lydia realized it was just him kissing up to her so that she wouldn't hate him in situations like this.

Too late now. _She hated him_. Anybody who was foolish enough to hurt her own daughter was someone she couldn't tolerate. And anyone who was sneaky enough to mess around with one of her daughter's friends behind Haley's back was someone who lost all of her respect_. It's impossible to gain it back now._

Haley locked her door and shut her lights. Then she walked up to her window, opened them a little bit so that the full moon could shine through, and crawled on top of her bed with her favorite stuffed bear against her chest. And she just lied there, staring at her ceiling thinking about the pain inside her chest. She wasn't sure if she was going to die tonight or wake up in the morning hoping that it was all just a dream. The ache was so strong and so unbearable; she didn't think she could make it to work for the week or everyday after tomorrow.

How could she possibly go on with her life after finding out that her fiancé was cheating on her? No matter how much anger she had built inside of her; she was still in love with him. Her emotions were so wishy washy that she wasn't quite sure how to feel anymore. And the fact that she had another issue to resolve made it even more stressful.

As she stared longingly at the ceiling, she felt her eyes slowly well up with tears. She tried to fight it off and hold it, but they fell anyways. And soon enough, after attempting to halt them, she started to sob. Her cheeks grew tighter, her eyes became puffier and her breaths were shorter. Haley lifted her left hand up to her face and gazed at the shiny ring on her finger. Her chin quivered d as tears dripped from her eyes. Then she slid the ring off and threw it against her wall. And she turned her face into the pillow and screamed against it to release all of her anger and sadness. But she knew that the pain wasn't going to go away so quickly.

**

* * *

**

"_Isn't that your car?" She beat his silver Porsche continuously with a bat_ -_smashing the windows, headlights, and mirror like a maniac. Then the blond woman opened the door and crawled inside the vehicle_, _tearing the leather interior with her bare teeth. And oddly_, _her nails were as long as pencils and they started clawing into the cotton of the seats. Her eyes were devilishly red like an animal and her hair was ratty and tangled. She was even wearing a horrible farm outfit that had oil stains on it. Then she stopped and looked up, staring at him dead in the eyes. She jumped out of the car and started galloping towards him like Tarzan – both of her arms and feet on the ground. The psycho blond got closer and closer with her hellish eyes and then she pounced on him with her long_, _sharp nails. _

Nathan quickly sat up on his bed with his chest heaving up and down – frightened from his nightmare. He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and glanced at his digital clock. It was only six minutes 'til seven. He groaned deeply after realizing how early it was and laid back against his bed.

His dream felt so real – he thought that the strange blond woman was going to kill him after attacking his precious car. He wanted so much to believe that it wasn't true – that his baby was okay and not damaged like a wrinkly coke can from the street. He reached over to grab his cell phone to check his contacts. When he scrolled down and found the name of the blonde psycho woman, he winced and closed his eyes in depression.

"This cannot be happening!" he mumbled.

He grabbed one of his pillows and placed it over his face. And he screamed bloody murder into it until his phone began ringing some rap song. He removed the fluffy pillow away and glanced at the screen on his phone. _Dad._

He sighed deeply and answered it in the most annoyed tone ever. "It's seven o'clock. Why are you calling me so damn early?"

"Because plans have changed," his father answered.

Nathan lazily closed his eyes and replied. "I don't have a job anymore? Thank goodness."

"No. You're meeting up with the other co-owner at the location in an hour."

"What?" Nathan snapped, propping himself up on his elbow. "In an hour?

"Yeah. We want to set this place up ASAP. And since he's available today, we should take our chances."

"Well, I'm not available today," Nathan groaned. "I have some things to take care of. Why can't we just settle it at next week's appointment?"

"Because I'm the boss. And you do as I say."

"I'm a boss too. So I should have a say in this."

"Not at this point. You can't be lazy at the beginning process of a business, Nate. You've done your job as a lazy bum, now be a man and work."

"Dad," Nathan complained.

"Nathan, if you don't show up, you know what we're going to do to your car."

He sat up from his bed and rubbed his hair at the mention of his baby. "There's no longer a car to take away," he said.

"What?"

"Some mental person decided to avenge her fiancé by damaging his car, but unfortunately she got the wrong one."

He could hear his father laughing on the other line. Nathan sneered and grew annoyed by his father's amusement. It wasn't something to be joking about. He absolutely loved that car and now it's gone. Gone forever. It's never coming back. _Poof!_

"I guess I've done my job."

"Now you have nothing to blackmail me with."

"No, no. You signed a contract, Nathan. You can't back out now."

Nathan sighed deeply and lazily opened his eyes to stare out his window. The sun was barely up just like him. He couldn't stand waking up at this time. It was too damn early. If he had to do this every single day for the rest of his life, he would never find enough time to sleep.

"Fine," he replied. "I'll be there in an hour. Where's this place at again?"

"210 East Street downtown. Look for _Bean Java_," Dan answered.

"Alright, I'll call you when I get there. Bye."

**

* * *

**

"Morning beautiful." Haley sluggishly moved around in her bed at the sound of a male voice. She opened one eye and found her cheating fiancé at her bed side. Her heart began to race. But not because she was happy to see him. It was because of all the anger and nervousness that was filling up inside of her. She could almost feel her organs trembling as she laid there.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned as she opened her other eye and sat up.

"I wanted to come see you. Your mom let me in," he replied as he reached over to push one of her blond locks behind her ear. "Your eyes are puffy."

She quickly moved to the side to keep him from touching her. She didn't want him laying one finger on her after holding Alex's slutty hands last night. And she sure as hell didn't want to know where else his fingers been.

"Why did she let you in?" she asked, curiously. Lydia knew what happened. Vivian told her last night. _How dare she even let him knock on their door!_

Julian looked at her, puzzled. "Am I not allowed to come greet my own fiancé good morning?"

Haley let out a chuckle in disbelief. "How can you sit here in my own room acting like you're Mr. Perfect?"

"What are you talking about, Hales?" he questioned. Julian glanced at her left hand and noticed that there was nothing on her ring finger. "And where is your engagement ring?"

"As if you don't know?"

"I don't," he answered, still confused by her sudden attitude. "What is going on with you?"

Haley's jaw tightened as she pictured him and Alex at the restaurant. All she wanted to do at that moment was to grab Alex by the neck and strangle her until her eyes popped out. It was probably the only thing that would cure all the hurt she was feeling.

"What is going on with _me_? What is going on with _you_?" Haley repeated as she climbed out of the bed.

"Nothing."

"PSHHH!" Haley snapped as she looked around the floor to find her ring. "That's such a lie, you cheating bastard!"

Julian's eyes widened at the last few words of that sentence and observed Haley as she browsed the ground.

"What?"

"Yeah, you heard me," Haley replied, looking away from the carpeted floor and up to him with her swollen eyes. "I saw you with Alex last night at Rosetta's. _Work_, my ass!" she laughed.

"You saw us?"

"Holding and kissing her hand at the table, yep."

"W-we were j-just," he stuttered, nervously. "We were just a having a friendly dinner."

Haley grabbed a brush from her vanity cabinet and threw it at him. "Stop lying!"

He ducked quickly and gave her a shocked expression. "What the hell!"

"How dare you lie to my face? Just tell the truth, for goodness sakes, Julian!"

He sighed deeply and leaned forward, placing his hands on top of his knees. "Haley, I didn't want you to find out that way. I was going to tell you about it after the art show."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Haley asked, completely shocked. "You were going to keep making me believe that you were in love with me and then tell me that you actually loved someone else later?"

"Well –"

"I can't believe this!" she cut in. "You're really a good catch, Julian! Amazing. And I thought lawyers were supposed to be smart," she added as she started pacing around her room to find the ring. She was going to return it to him at the end of their argument, but she realized that she owed money to that man she met last night. And she knew that selling the diamond ring would give her a little bit of money to give to him. _Perfect revenge._

Julian licked his lips, obviously at loss for words. He wasn't prepared for this conversation to happen at this moment. He was going to make notecards to practice with a few days before the art show because he was a perfectionist, but unfortunately karma decided to hit him in the face and make it this morning.

"Look, Hales. I didn't plan on falling for someone else," he began. Haley cringed at the words flowing from his lips. _Falling for someone else._ It hurt hundreds times more coming from him. "I loved you so much, but there was something about Alex that was so much –"

"Better?" Haley cut in as she stopped searching for the ring.

Julian looked at her with guilt. He could see how much pain he was causing just talking about Alex. No matter how happy it made him to think about Alex, he couldn't bear to look at Haley as if he never loved her. It was too hard.

"Haley," he replied.

"Why didn't you just dump me instead?"

"It's not that easy. I really do love you, but then Alex came into the picture and-"

"Look, if you're going to tell me how you fell in love with her or what you like about her right in front of my face, then just leave," she suggested as tears started forming at the rims of her eyes. "Just spare me the heart ache and leave my house right now."

"Please try to understand me."

"Understand you? How can I? You were my fiance, Julian! I am in love with you. I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you and you cheated on me!" she snapped. "You made me believe that you actually loved me but NO! You found someone sluttier and prettier than me!"

Julian stood up from the edge of her bed and stepped forward to talk to Haley at eye level. But as he reached over to grab her by the arm, she pulled away and walked towards the door.

"Haley, can we talk about this in a calmly manner?" he asked.

"You're a world class idiot, Julian!" Vivian shouted from the other side of the door.

Haley furrowed her eyes and swung the door open. As she did, Vivian and her mother collapsed on top of each other on the floor.

"Mom! Vivian!" Haley cried out. "What the hell?"

"Mom, get off me!" Vivian exclaimed with her long hair covering her face.

"Oh sorry, sweetie," she apologized, petting her daughter's hair.

Julian quickly tried to find some composure when he saw Ms. James. "Lydia, I'm so sorry if you heard anything about what happened but-"

"Don't call me Lydia," she ordered as she stumbled back on her feet. Julian's eyes widened at her response. "After finding out that you actually cheated on my daughter, you don't deserve to call me Lydia or Ms. James for that matter."

"That's right!" Vivian stated, fixing her hair.

"I'm sorry," Julian stated. "I really am sorry."

"You should be sorry," Lydia replied. "You just lost the greatest thing in your life. Way to go, pal." Haley bit her lip to keep her tears from bursting out as Julian glanced at her in guilt. "How could you even think that you could have two girls at once? Does that brain of yours even work?"

Vivian let out a giggle as Julian shot her a look. "Apparently not," she mumbled.

"Look, you don't understand how hard it was for me-"

"Did you even think about how hard it was going to be for Haley, your fiancé?" Lydia questioned.

"Ex-fiance," Vivian corrected.

He didn't answer and that was all that was needed to be said. If he wasn't able to give her a good explanation, he wasn't thinking at all. "You just lost everything," Lydia stated.

Julian took a moment to observe the family of women. He got the chance to know each of them as a person. He knew their personalities and some of their flaws. And now he wasn't going to ever see them again. He was truly sorry for the horrible fault he created. And he hoped that someday they'll forgive him – that Haley will forgive him. He still loved her. He just wasn't in love with her.

"Now get out, bitch," Vivian stated. Lydia's eyes widened and nudged her in the ribs. "Ow!" she yelped.

Haley tried to hold in her laughter. She wasn't quite sure what was so funny, but she loved the way her mother and sister were getting all up in Julian's face.

"Lyd- I'm mean, Ms. –" Julian tried to think about what to call Haley's mother, but he couldn't quite figure it out. "I am deeply sorr-"

Lydia quickly grabbed him by the ear before he could finish and dragged him out of Haley's room towards the front door. "An apology is not going to cut it," she stated.

He winced at the pain from his ear as Lydia started lecturing him about how wonderful Haley was and how he didn't deserved any girl of her class. Haley tried to stop her mother from hurting him, but Vivian was rooting her on. She was even hitting him with her fluffy slipper like he was a cockroach.

"Mom!" Haley called out.

"OW OW OW!" Julian complained.

"Vivian, open the door!" Lydia ordered.

Her youngest daughter stopped hitting him with her slipper and opened the door completely, letting the sun gleam from outside. And Lydia pushed him out, making him stumble on his feet.

"This was your last visit, Julian. I don't want to see you step foot on this property, again!" Lydia threated and shut the door in his face once he tried to take a step forward.

"Good riddens!" Vivian exclaimed.

**

* * *

**

Nathan asked Tim to pick him up and drive him to the location where he had to meet his co-worker. Unfortunately, Tim drove a pretty old car. It dated back to the early 2000's. The engine was kind of raggedy and the air conditioner barely blew out any warm air. Since it was autumn, the weather was a bit colder than usual. And they were freezing.

"What the hell?" Nathan questioned once the radio started buzzing out into a Spanish station.

Tim turned the corner and glanced at his stereo. "Oh, you have to hit it three times to go back to the current station."

Nathan furrowed his eyes and did what his best friend told him to do. He leaned forward and slapped the radio three times until it returned to the hip hop station they were listening to.

"You have a ghetto car, Tim," Nathan stated.

"At least I have a car," he shot back.

Nathan quickly glared at his buddy and punched him across the arm. He didn't want to be reminded of that event. He cringed every time he thought about it. It was such a sensitive subject for him.

Once they finally found the place at 210 East Street downtown, located at a corner of a street near most of the popular shops and restaurants, they noticed how wrecked the place was. The sign that once said _Bean Java_ was hanging on one single screw. It was going to fall any minute.

Nathan and Tim climbed out of the car and carefully walked up the steps of the place. The door creaked as they entered the broken down café. There were a few pieces of furniture hanging around, but very dusty and dirty ones.

"This is where you're starting your business?" Tim questioned, afraid of what he'd find next as he turned the corner into an opened room with large windows. They could see the streets of the city from that room.

"My dad said it was a vacant building, not an abandoned one," Nathan stated as they noticed a counter near the corner of the room. It had shelves and a chalkboard that you'd see in a classroom.

He started walking towards it to see the quality of the wood when out of nowhere someone popped up from behind it, making Nathan jump back in shock. It was a large middle aged man with a bed head hair-do holding a silver mug that said _Java. _He had on a gray polo shirt with a dark blue collar and a pair of khakis and a receding hairline. Nathan could tell that he dyed his hair brown because of his gray roots. His gut was even sticking out, forming a perfectly round circle.

"You must be Nathan," the man stated with a genuine smile. "I'm Percy Ryan," he added, holding out his hand.

_Percy? What kind of name is that? Nathan thought. _

He glanced at the man's chubby old hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Percy," Nathan greeted.

"Nice place, huh?" the old man questioned.

"I was expecting a place cleaner than this. And bigger."

Percy laughed. "Coffee shops shouldn't be bigger than this. It's a perfect size. And we can manage with the cleaning."

"Yeah," Nathan responded as he observed the place around him once more. He looked behind him and noticed Tim checking out the seating area connected to the windows. He lightly placed his bottom on top of the wooden frame. AND BAM! Tim collapsed into the bench-like area with his legs up to his chest and his feet dangling in the air.

"Can I get a little help here?" Tim asked.

Nathan chuckled and jogged up to him. He grabbed his arms and pulled him out roughly not caring if he was scratched or anything. Tim was a big boy. He could take it.

"That definitely needs some constructing," Percy stated, pointing at the now broken bench and sipped from his mug.

Nathan sighed deeply and shook his head. "This whole place needs revamping!"

"Really?" Percy replied. "I was thinking that it needed just a few adjustments and it would be fine."

"A few adjustments? This place is a wreck."

"Well, we can fix it up."

Nathan sighed and walked towards the middle of the room to check out the ceiling. It wasn't so bad, but it wasn't what he'd enjoy seeing if he ever walked into the coffee shop as a customer. It had a few cracks and water damages. "If I want to have a successful coffee shop, it needs to look good."

"Do you have any idea how much it would take to reconstruct this whole place?" Percy questioned walking from around the corner with his mug in his hand. "Thousands of dollars."

"The money's not the problem. I've got plenty," Nathan answered.

"Plenty of _your father's_ money," Percy corrected.

Nathan raised an eyebrow at the older guy. "If I needed it, he'd give it to us."

"That's not what he told me."

"What do you mean?"

"Your father is only giving us enough money to get this whole place started. Then after that, the money will come from the amount of profit we get from business."

"Which means?"

"Which means that we can't waste most of that money to reconstruct this whole place. We need it to buy the products and other essentials."

"Well we can manage," Nathan replied.

**

* * *

**

She twirled the engagement ring in between her fingers while she moped against the front counter at work. Her mood was so depressing that for the first time in two years of working at the _Paint Shop _she wasn't able to brighten up the place with her smile.

Haley observed the beautifully cut diamond and thought about selling it to get money for the Porsche she destroyed. It would at least pay for some of it. Then maybe, just maybe, Mr. Kim would be kind enough to give her a raise since he was a close friend of theirs.

It had been a week since the incident and she's been trying to find enough money to pay that rude man back, but her salary wasn't good enough. Vivian even had to do some hustling at school by telling a couple of boys she'd go on a date with them if they paid her. It cost extra for a kiss. But after the first date with one of the nerdiest boys in school, she decided to just put some of her clothes for sale on e-bay instead.

And since raising money was so hard, they had to tell Lydia about their issue. Although their mother wasn't completely happy with their situation, she decided to help them out. Since the Porsche was supposed to be Julian's in the first place and it was a big mistake, she sympathized with them. A mother's got to have her daughters' backs. So she used some of her money from the tailoring business into the "Porsche" savings account. And so far they've saved up to $5,000. Just a dent.

"Why he dump you?" Mr. Kim asked, walking past the counter to dust one of the stone sculptures.

"He didn't dump me. I dumped him because the ass cheated on me," Haley mumbled, tapping the ring against the counter.

"He cheat on you, he dump you," he stated.

Haley furrowed her eyes. "It doesn't work that way," she stated.

"If he found someone better, he dumped you," Mr. Kim explained as he blew a gust of air into a dusty hole in the owl statue.

"Are you trying to make me sadder than I already am?"

"No. He no good for you anyways," her boss answered. "He too nice. You need man who can nag you when you do wrong."

"Why would I want someone like that? Julian was perfect," she replied.

"Cause they tell you your mistakes so you can fix them," Mr. Kim answered. "No one perfect but he not perfect for you."

Thinking about her stupid mistake last night, she glanced back at her engagement ring. After finding Julian cheating on her, she sure as hell wasn't going to give the ring back or keep it. The only purpose left for that diamond was to sell it to resolve part of her problem.

She stepped away from the counter and said, "I'm going to go on my lunch break now, Mr. Kim."

He stopped dusting the statue and turned around. "What?"

"I need to do something really quick. I'll be back in thirty!" she replied as she grabbed her purse and walked out of the shop.

Mr. Kim wasn't quite sure where she was going, but he didn't take it too seriously. Haley was like a daughter to him. Since Haley lost her father at a very young age, he was able to be the father figure she always needed. So knowing that Haley was heartbroken because of a boy, he made sure to be gentle with her.

Haley rushed towards the nearest jewelry store at the mall. She was going to exchange her ring for money. She needed to fix her mistakes. Even if she knew that it wasn't going to cost 120k, it was still something. The ring must've cost a lot of money. The diamond was pretty big and the band was made of gold. At least Julian thought she was worthy enough to have a super expensive and beautiful ring like that.

She approached the jewelry store at the mall and exchanged it for the cash. By surprise, the ring ended up being $50,000. So that meant she had about $65,000 to go. That didn't seem like much, but it was still a lot. It was disappointing that not even a diamond engagement ring could make up for the whole amount of money she owed the guy. She didn't even get his name.

**

* * *

**

"NATHAN!"

Nathan stopped hammering down a wall and excused himself from some of the workers that he hired to revamp the place. It had been a couple of days since he met up with Mr. Percy Ryan, preferably "Percy", and he's been working pretty hard to start up the business. After all, this was a pretty big opportunity for him. Taking the manager spot at the beginning doesn't usually happen that often or even at all. And since his parents only thought of him as a spoiled twenty-something year old man, he wanted to prove to them that he was more than that. He wasn't getting any younger and neither were his parents. And he wanted to make them proud of him for actually doing something with his life.

Putting the hammer down on the ground, he went searching for the voice that desperately called out his name.

"What do you want, Tim?" he asked, approaching the counter. He found his best friend on top of it with a paint brush in his hand. Nathan furrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, observing Tim's position.

"There's a rat under there!" Tim cried out.

"A rat?"

"Yeah, humongous, ugly-ass rat!"

Nathan chuckled. "You're a man, Tim. Be one."

"Hey! Just because I'm part of the male species doesn't mean I can't be scared of hairy rodents."

Nathan shook his head and took a step forward towards the back of the counter. He leaned in to check inside the dusty and crowded area. There was nothing that looked anything like a rat at all. Old crates, empty peach jars and newspapers were all that he could see.

"I don't see anything, Tim," he mumbled before looking up.

"Look closer! It's there somewhere!" he retorted. "I'm not setting one foot on that ground until that rat is gone!"

Nathan stood up straight and sighed deeply. He took a second to glare at his close friend and grabbed Tim by the arm tightly. "Get down from there," he demanded, pulling him off the counter.

"Hey! Hey!" Tim complained struggling to go back down on the floor.

"I can't have you working in my café if you can't even deal with some dirty business," Nathan stated. "I don't want a weakling working in my café."

"Just watch," Tim began. "Once you see that rat, you'll jump in fright just like I did."

"Psh," Nathan laughed. "I have balls." And he turned around to continue hammering down the wall.

Tim furrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what that meant. He wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch. Tim Smith was pretty slow, but he was very friendly and funny. If Nathan didn't have him in his life, he wouldn't have anyone to laugh with and make fun of.

Nathan grabbed his hammer again and started hitting the wall, removing all the sheetrock. He glanced over where Tim was and noticed that he finally continued painting the counter. But then suddenly he felt something around his foot. It was kind of furry, so he looked down and noticed a brown rat around his ankle. Immediately, he jumped and screeched in fright as the rat ran across the room.

Everyone in the room grew alert from Nathan's sudden reaction, and started scrambling around like a bunch of girls. Some men jumped up on their stools and others started running after it, hoping to capture the rodent. Nathan had his hand against his chest and his other arm leaning against the wall as he tried to calm his breaths.

"Where are your balls now?" Tim laughed, as he stayed at his spot.

Nathan glared at him, and threw a dirty rag at his back. "Shut up and go back to work!"

"Yes, boss!" Tim saluted.

**

* * *

**

After school, Vivian decided to go out for ice cream with a couple of her school friends. They had this popular ice cream shop down town and they just had to get some. As they were walking down the streets in the city, they stopped at this one building filled with men hammering down walls and throwing out junk into a truck. All her friends immediately grew ecstatic at the sight of all the attractive men who were inside. It was like they never seen so many cute guys at once before.

"Look at him! He's so handsome!" One of her friends exclaimed, practically drooling at the sight of one dark haired guy with his sleeves rolled up his arms.

Licking her ice cream, she looked towards the window where she found a couple attractive men. She took a longer look and spotted two very familiar fellows. One had gloves on as he tore some of the wall off the wooden frames. And the other one was painting a wall on the other side.

"Vivian, which one would you want to date?" Her red head friend asked.

Vivian's eyes were glued to the two guys and hesitated to answer the question. "Uh. . . what?"

"She's probably too stunned by their hotness!"

"Probably," the red head stated. "I wonder what they're doing there. That used to be the old coffee shop before."

"Whatever it is, I'm totally going there everyday just to see them!" the other girl squealed.

Vivian continued to observe the guys inside. She knew exactly who they were. _Porsche man!_ Her eyes widened once the taller guy turned around and looked out the window.

She quickly grabbed both of her friends' arms and dragged them away. "Come on, let's go. My mom will be mad if I don't come home in time."

"But the cute guys!" they complained.

"We can look at them later! Come on!" she ordered, pulling them away from the building.

From inside, Nathan had noticed three high school girls in uniforms standing outside obviously looking at them. One of the girls looked really familiar. She had long brown hair with an ice cream cone. He swore that she looked familiar, but they all left too quickly for him to observe her longer. He stepped closer to the window to see if he could catch another glimpse, but it was too late.

"What's out there?" Tim asked, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Nothing, I thought I saw someone I knew," Nathan answered.

He was about to turn around when he spotted his other best friend, Clay, walk past the window. Clay greeted him from outside and then continued walking until he entered the building.

"Someone asked for some help?" he stated, walking into the shop.

"Grab a paint brush or hammer, and get started," Nathan ordered.

"He's really taking this seriously, isn't he?" Clay stated with a surprised grin at Tim.

Tim shrugged and continued painting the wall. "Do what he says, Clay."

He scoffed and searched for a tool to help out. He glanced at his two friends and walked up to Nathan by the punched out wall.

"I think he likes you," Clay mumbled, removing nails from the sheetrock.

Nathan chuckled. "Shut up."

Clay chuckled as they both continued to knock down wall.

"Why are you knocking down this one?" he asked.

"The place is divided into two small spaces, and I don't like small spaces, so I decided that it needed to be open."

"Nice," Clay nodded, understanding Nathan's reasons.

Clay Evans was one of Nathan's close pals from high school. Out of their trio, he was the only one who wasn't born into a wealthy family. Besides the looks, Clay had pure talent. He was known as the musician of the group. He was always strumming on his guitar and writing down in his notebook. And every girl in school found him irresistible because they all wanted him to sing to them or write them a song. But one thing about Clay that wasn't so charming was the fact that he liked to flirt around and find groupies of his own. He was so popular among the ladies, he thought he was going to make it big, but unfortunately he hasn't written a decent song in years.

**

* * *

**

For the past few days, Haley's been working extra shifts and helping her mother with the tailoring business to gain more cash to pay for the Porsche. Nathan called her one time to remind her that she had more than a week left until she needed to pay him. She still had thousands of dollars to earn to buy him another car. She still couldn't believe that she was even doing something like this.

"Loan shark," Mr. Kim suggested.

Haley stopped cleaning the register. "What?"

"I got friend who know a friend who can help you," he replied, again, in his distinctive accent.

"No way, Mr. Kim. I will not even go to a loan shark to get money. Do you know the consequences that I will have to deal with if I do that?"

"Pay or get sued. Pick one."

Haley sighed deeply and shut the cash register roughly. She definitely didn't want to get sued over something like this. And she also didn't want to ask for money from a loan shark, especially knowing what they would want in return. But now that Mr. Kim mentioned it, it seemed like it would be the only choice she could make.

As she was thinking about her decision, she noticed a familiar man walk into the shop. Her eyes widened at the sight of the tall, raven haired man and she quickly hid behind the counter.

Mr. Kim furrowed his eyes when Haley disappeared, but continued fixing up a few pieces and greeted the man near the entrance.

Since the café was quickly getting into tip top shape, it was starting to look plain. The walls were blank and painted white. It needed something that would pop out and say "young and current". He wanted to attract a lot of young people to the café because he knew that business would be booming if it was a popular spot amongst the high schoolers.

So he decided to go searching for some pieces of art and paintings that would fit perfectly for the business. And he immediately thought of the _Paint Shop. _He never went inside to look around, but he knew it was there.

He started browsing around the place, glancing at all the different styles of art in the store. Some were a bit ancient and old. He didn't want the grandpa-look. He needed something vibrant and colorful. And somehow none of the pieces he's seen so far caught his interest.

"You need help, sir?" Mr. Kim asked, approaching him from the side.

Haley slowly peeked out from the counter to see if he was still around. She didn't want to be seen at all by him. But unfortunately when she looked out, he was still there. She groaned and continued observing him as Mr. Kim started talking to him.

"Yeah. I was looking for something new and young," Nathan stated. "I was wondering if you had anything like that around?"

"Hmm," Mr. Kim replied. He turned around and started skimming around the place to find something that he probably liked.

When Haley noticed that Mr. Kim and Nathan were walking closer to the counter, she quickly hid back against it.

"How about this one?" Mr. Kim suggested, pulling out a painting with vibrant colors.

Nathan observed it, but thought it was too girly. He wanted something neutral that also young guys would find interesting. "Nah, do you have anything . . . _better_?"

"Better?" Mr. Kim asked, shocked. "This is a Salvador Dali!"

"I don't care what this is. I need something else," Nathan replied bluntly.

Haley's eyes widened. Salvador Dali was Mr. Kim's favorite painter and he always suggested his paintings first to a customer, but this was the first one who's ever asked for something _better. _She knew immediately that Mr. Kim was not going to like this guy.

The hurt Asian man slowly placed the painting back into its rightful spot and nodded his head, accepting the customer's request. So he turned around to search for another painting that he would probably like.

Nathan started walking the other direction to find a piece that found his interest. Everything seemed so simple and plain. Nothing was good enough for the café – for his cafe. It had to be the perfect painting and style. As he continued searching around, he spotted a canvas with a white quilt draped over it. He stepped towards it and asked, "What's this one?"

Haley peeked her head up from the counter to see what he was talking about and she immediately felt her heart stop. She had forgotten to put her painting back into the back room. Mr. Kim allowed her to paint out here for a while, but to make sure she put it back. Obviously, she didn't.

"Oh, that's not for sale," Mr. Kim stated, quickly walking over to him.

Nathan removed the quilt from the canvas and found the most remarkable piece of art he had ever seen. It was exactly what he was asking for. It was colorful, abstract and vibrant. It even had "YOUTH" written all over it. Even though it was obviously an unfinished project, it was what he was asking for.

"Wow!" he gasped. "This is it!"

"This?"

"Yes. This is exactly what I'm looking for. Young, colorful and beautiful."

Haley suddenly felt happy inside at his words. Who knew out of everyone in this town, he was the one who complimented her art piece with so much admiration.

"You want this painting?" Mr. Kim questioned.

"Maybe not this exact painting, but maybe something similar. Are you the artist?"

"No, it's one of my employees' pieces."

Haley's eyes widened and she quickly slid back down behind the counter.

"Really? Would it be possible if I could meet him? I want an original painted on the walls of my café."

She immediately closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, praying that Mr. Kim wouldn't respond with a "yes".

"Oh sure!" Mr. Kim replied delightfully, apparently over his pain of the Dali painting. "I'll go get _her_," he corrected.

Haley groaned and quickly tried to find something to hide her face with before Mr. Kim found her hiding there. So she grabbed one of the newspapers from the little table near the backroom and covered her face with it as she rolled up in a ball. She was hoping to look like a bundle of trash stuffed underneath the counter, but Mr. Kim found her anyways.

"The artist is right here," Mr. Kim pointed out, standing behind the counter. Nathan followed him towards the area, and looked down at the newspaper hidden person.

"I'm not here," Haley stated in a high-pitched voice.

"If you're not there, how come you're talking?" Nathan questioned. She stayed quiet and pretended to be invisible. She desperately didn't want to reveal her face to him. But he leaned over to remove the newspaper off her face anyways. When he saw the girl underneath the paper, his eyes widened. "YOU!"

"Hi there!" she greeted bashfully as she waved at him lightly.

"You're the artist?"

"Guilty," she replied.

Nathan groaned and closed his eyes in frustration. Just looking at her reminded him of his nightmare. He just couldn't stand her for doing something like that to HIS car – his precious baby!

"This is unbelievable," he sighed.

Haley lifted herself up from the floor and tried to avoid any eye contact with him.

"You know each other?" Mr. Kim questioned, clearly confused by the reaction between them.

"He's the guy," Haley answered.

Nathan looked down at the Korean man in curiosity.

"Ooooh," Mr. Kim responded as he observed the tall, stubborn man. "No good, no good!"

"Definitely no good," Nathan stated, looking at Haley in disgust. "I don't need a painter anymore especially after finding out that it's you."

Haley scoffed. "Excuse me. That was rude."

"I don't care, I'm not letting you touch anything that I owe," he replied quickly.

"I'm trying my best to get the money, but do you have any idea how hard it is to gain 120k in two weeks?"

"I wouldn't know," he replied, cockily.

"Of course you wouldn't," she responded, rolling her eyes at the guy. "Why don't you buy your own car instead of making me suffer like this?"

"Because you made me suffer. You owe me. I can't just let you off the hook after destroying my car," he retorted. "I'm not that nice of a guy."

"Well go pay for some classes to get a few lessons on how to be a nice guy."

"Why you little –"

"Hey hey hey!" Mr. Kim cut in. "No fighting in my shop. Go outside and figure this out."

"I'm leaving anyways," Nathan responded and turned around to leave.

Haley glared at him in frustration but then thought about his reason for coming here. He wanted a painter to paint something on the walls of his café. He really liked her painting. It was exactly what he needed for his business. He said it loud and clear. And she was really desperate to get rid of all the guilt that she had inside for destroying his car. Finding money just to pay him back for another car was ridiculous. It was making her family suffer and that wasn't fair at all. And it was practically inhuman. This man was so selfish that he'd make someone like her with little money pay him thousands of dollars just for a new car? Using her paintings just might help clean her plate if she knew how to use it right.

"Wait!" she called out.

Nathan stopped before he exited the shop and turned around. "What?"

"Let's make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Since I heard you talking about how perfect my painting was for your cafe, maybe I can owe that to you instead of paying you so much money."

Nathan laughed. "Are you kidding me?"

"No!" she retorted. "I'm desperately asking you to please take this offer. I can't afford to buy you another car, but I _can_ paint for you. You don't have to give me a paycheck. This is how I will repay you. It's the only thing that I can give. I saved up half of the amount I owe you. I'll give that to you. But, please, let me paint for the rest of my debt."

Nathan sighed deeply. He could see the want and hope in her eyes. Even if he was an inconsiderate, selfish guy, for once he was actually giving in to someone else's needs. So he took a moment to find enough strength to give her an answer. It was hard but he did it anyways.

"Fine. I'll hire you as my painter."

Haley smiled happily and jumped in glee. "Thank you!"

"Just give me the money you already have to me when you come in," Nathan stated, walking back to the counter. He grabbed a pencil and a ripped off a piece of paper from the stack of fliers. And he began writing down the address of the café. "Here, go to this place tomorrow."

"I'll be there. I promise!" Haley replied.

Nathan glanced at her with a blank expression and nodded. "Okay."

Once he was finally out of the shop, Haley grabbed the piece of paper where he scribbled down the address and sighed. "Thank you café!"

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hi readers! I'm sorry for the long wait. I didn't think it would take this long to reply. I had to do a lot of reediting and revising with this chapter. I just didn't like what I had written before. And I just wanted it to be perfect. I know that I said I was going to try to update on a daily basis, but that's impossible now that I have school to worry about. So bare with me with on the updates. But I will not make you wait weeks or months. I want to finish this story in the same/hopefully similar pace at PLL.

**Anyways**, **I'm going to summarize all of your wonderful reviews into one big personal reply. ** I'm so very happy and glad to see another set of familiar readers. I'm glad to know that I've made most of you love the new characters that I've developed so far. Mr. Kim, Vivian, Anthony - to name a few- are going to be a part of the comical parts of the story to keep the story balanced when and if there's some dramatic parts. And yes, I really enjoyed writing PLL. It was fun and light with less drama so I wanted to really wanted to write another story with something similar to that concept. And I know this plotline may seem similar to the one PLL with the whole deal or no deal type of thing, but it's not. Or at least I'm going to try to steer clear away from that. I want to make a completely different story but with the same light/comical energy that PLL had. I hope that makes sense. This story will have more characters involved than PLL though. And oh, Clay/Vivian couple? hmmm. That would be very interesting. But yeah, **baffledn'beffudled**, there is a major age difference like ten. And Vivian is only 17 so that would be illegal. But I will play around with something similar to that. ;)

I'm sorry I couldn't write a much longer a/n - i know sad :( lol. But I hope you enjoy this chapter. You all keep me motivated and inspired to write. I love you all! :)

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Haley arrived at the address wearing one of her unfashionable outfits that Vivian despised. It was a knee length black skirt and a long sleeve gray t-shirt with a short-sleeved tee over it. She also sported some knee night socks and converse. It wasn't something anybody would've thought of wearing out in public. She didn't care about whether she looked good or not anyways, she was going to be painting the whole time.

She opened the door to the back seat of her car and pulled out her box of paint brushes and other essentials. It was a pretty heavy load. As she was trying to steady her strength and kick the door shut, the box began slipping from her arms.

"No-no-no!" she cried out as the box began to tip over, dropping all of her paint brushes onto the concrete. "Great!" she complained, placing the box onto the sidewalk to pick up all the things that had fallen out.

While picking up the pieces, she noticed a pair of white sneakers on a pair of jean clad legs walk up to her. She slowly looked up and found her new boss staring down at her.

"Hi!" she greeted happily, putting all the items back inside the box.

"What's all that?" Nathan questioned.

"All the things I need to paint with." She held the load up and adjusted it in her arms.

He observed all the items inside and picked up a yellow sponge. He made a face at it and threw it back inside.

"The workers aren't coming until later this afternoon, so you have plenty of time and space to work," he stated before walking up the steps to the entrance.

Haley sneered at him and struggled to carry the box. _What a gentleman! He didn't even offer to carry this for me. She complained. _And she followed him inside. Once she did, she observed the shop and couldn't help but notice how quaint it looked. It was a bit plain and it still had a few fixtures to do, but it was still pretty decent.

"Where should I start?" she asked in a low tone, apparently tired of holding the box on her own.

Nathan walked over to the farthest wall in the room and pointed at it. "Here," he replied.

"Do you want something in particular?"

"Anything that will fit a coffee shop," Nathan replied. "Just don't paint anything you'd see in a pet store."

"Will do, sir!"

He narrowed his eyes at her and observed her as she placed the stuff on the floor and started pulling items out of the box. She took out a big roll of paper and laid it out on the ground. Then she took a pencil and started staring at the large piece of paper blankly. He noticed how one of her knee socks was slipping down her leg and then observed the rest of her outfit.

"Did you get dressed in the dark?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

Haley was about to start sketching her drawing but halted at his comment. "Why? Does it look weird?"

He laughed. "Do you think it looks appealing?" he replied back.

Her shoulders slumped and she glared at him for a second when someone walked into the shop. It was Mr. Percy Ryan holding a tool box. And he entered with the jolliest smile she had ever seen.

"Morning, Mr. Scott. You're here early," he greeted, walking over to the counter to place the box of tools on top of it.

"Yeah, well I just hired the painter for our wall murals. I thought it would be a good time to let her have her space before everyone arrived," Nathan replied, glancing at Haley who was looking at them shyly.

Percy turned around to see who the painter was and couldn't help but find the young woman adorable. Although she wasn't in the best attire she could possibly be in, she had a certain aura that was very admiring.

"Well aren't you a cutie!" he complimented, walking up to her with his hand out. "I'm Percy, the co-owner."

Haley looked at him, happily and greeted him. "Haley, the painter" she replied.

"Well nice to meet you, Haley, _the painter_. I'm so glad you agreed to paint for us. What are you planning on making?"

She glanced at her blank paper and shook her head. "I don't know yet, but I'm thinking about it. I know for a fact that I'm going to put a cup of coffee in it somehow."

Percy smiled. "A coffee shop definitely needs some coffee art. It sounds good already!"

She chuckled lightly at the jolliness this man brought into the room. Haley glanced at Nathan leaning against the counter and noticed how annoyed he looked by the man's energy. _What a shmuck! She thought._

"Well thank you," she replied, looking back at the round man.

"I guess we should start getting to work. We'll try not to be too noisy. A woman needs silence to work," he stated.

"It's okay. You guys do whatever you need to do. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Percy smiled. "If you need anything just tell me or Nathan here. Someone's coming with food, so you can have some if you like."

"Thank you again."

"No problem, sweetie," he replied and turned around to grab the tool box.

Nathan looked at him strangely, wondering what he was doing. For the past few days, Percy hadn't been doing much except eat most of the donuts and pizza that have been delivered to the shop during breaks. Besides eating, he's been standing and sitting around watching as everyone else worked their butts off. And that annoyed the hell out of Nathan. Percy was the co-owner of the place. His father chose him and he wasn't even doing his job as the boss. Was this his father's way of annoying him? Because it was working. So Nathan decided to take charge of everything himself. It was just weird to see Percy arriving with a toolbox of his own. Just weird!

"You're working now?" he questioned, following him into the kitchen that was currently being cleaned up.

"I thought I should at least do some work," Percy replied, placing the toolbox on top of the stove and opened it.

Nathan was shocked to see what was inside. A tool box was for tools, but for Percy it was a box for food. He had a sandwich, a bag of potato chips, chocolate pudding, twinkies, another sandwich and a can of soda.

"You put all that in your tool box?"

"Everyone got mad at me for eating the food, so I brought my own," Percy replied, picking up the twinkies.

"Percy, would you get off your ass and actually work?"

"I'll work once the store's done getting fixed. If we went with my idea by fixing just a few things, then I'd probably be making coffee right now."

Nathan blew out a heavy breath and shook his head in frustration. "Whatever, I'm going to be the main boss from now on. Go ahead and eat your sandwich," he stated before stepping out of the small kitchen and back into the main room where Haley was now sketching her drawing on the paper.

As Haley was in the middle of drawing her sketch, she messed up and needed an eraser. So she turned around and accidentally knocked down the cup of brushes and pencils she set out beside her. Everything spilled out and started rolling across the floor. Obviously the land wasn't straight because they were rolling to the other side of the room where Nathan had just stepped out of the kitchen.

"Uh oh," she mumbled to herself.

Nathan wasn't paying attention to where he was walking. He was too busy looking up at the ceiling to see what else needed to be fixed. So when he stepped forward, he slipped and fell backwards against the ground.

"Oh my gosh!" Haley gasped, cringing at the sight of him slipping on to the wooden floor.

She hurried over to him and hopped over his body to pick up the pieces. As she did that, Nathan took a second to look up and saw her pink panties underneath her black skirt. He was stunned by the sight and tried to find some composure after seeing what he just saw.

Haley picked up all the brushes and pencils off the floor and turned around to find Nathan staring at her. She stopped, holding the items in her arms and observed his expression. He looked so stunned and dazed; she thought something was wrong with him. Then she glanced down at her skirt and forgot that she put it on today then glanced back at Nathan. And she immediately knew what he was thinking about.

"PERV!" she cried out.

"What?" he replied, zoning out of his thoughts. He picked himself up from the floor and added, "You got it all wrong."

"How dare you sneak a peek up my skirt!" she replied, throwing brushes at him.

"Hey! Stop that!" Nathan ordered, trying to block his face from all the stuff she was throwing at him. "You jumped over me!"

Haley's eyes widened and stopped. "So you admit it! You looked up my skirt!"

"I didn't! Okay, I didn't!" he lied to make her stop throwing brushes at his face.

"You lie!"

"Would you just stop!" he begged, stepping forward to grab her wrists. And she did exactly what he told her to do. She stopped. She looked up at him and noticed the color of his eyes. They were absolutely beautiful. _What a waste! She thought. Mean man, pretty eyes. _

"Thank you!" he stated, releasing his grip from her wrists. "If you continued doing that, I would've changed my mind and told you to pay me back in cash instead."

She definitely didn't want that to happen. "Sorry, I apologize," she stated, kneeling down to grab all the items on the floor.

"Speaking of, where's my cash?" he asked.

"It's in my purse," she answered, placing all the pencils and brushes into the cup. "I'll get it for you."

"You better," he retorted, wiping pencil shavings off his shirt. "I'll be upstairs. So give it to me up there," he added, shaking his head at the naïve girl and walked up the steps toward the second floor.

As he was leaving, Haley stuck her tongue out at him and cleaned up her mess. "Perv. Looking up my skirt," she mumbled.

**

* * *

**

Hours later, Haley finally finished a quarter of her painting. It was an abstract painting of a couple sitting at a metal table outside on a balcony. Just like Nathan wanted - it had vibrant colors, it was new, it was fresh, and it was beautiful. But she wasn't done yet. She still had a lot to do. But it was pretty impressive for an artist to finish that much of a mural that big in a couple of hours. She was so tired from working nonstop yesterday with the Paint Shop, preparing for the art gallery and her mother's tailoring business that she didn't go to sleep until late. And she didn't want to continue painting the mural in a daze, so she stopped and decided to take a nap – on the floor of the café.

None of the workers arrived until later that afternoon and Nathan was upstairs cleaning up the area so he had no clue Haley was sleeping at all. Percy walked out of the kitchen a few times to check on how she was doing with the mural but when he found her sleeping on the floor, he didn't wake her up. He had a daughter of his own but she was all grown up and married with a child. And Haley reminded him of her so much. She was so adorable. So he left her alone and decided to let her nap.

Tim and Clay were the first of the workers to arrive at the café. Tim was ecstatic to finish fixing up the place because he really wanted to work already. He was so sick of cleaning and painting that he almost felt like dropping out to search for a new job. But since he was going to be working with his best friends, it was worth it.

Since Clay was out of a job too and no music was coming out of him, Nathan offered him a job to work there. So he accepted it. Just like Tim, he was pretty excited to be working at this new café. He wasn't sure how well it was going to progress, but he wanted to support Nathan. He was actually trying to do something which was pretty surprising and impressive.

"Yo Nathan!" Tim called out. "We're here!" he sang.

As they both walked in, Tim greeted Percy near the swinging doors of the kitchen while Clay stopped in his tracks when he noticed a girl lying on the ground with paint smeared all over her arms.

"Did someone dump a girl in here last night?" Clay questioned.

Tim looked away from Percy and glanced at the blonde girl lying on the floor. He furrowed his eyes and walked closer to examine her face. He kneeled down next to her and tilted his head at the sight of her familiar features.

"Isn't she adorable? And look at her mural, PERFECTO!" Percy complimented, biting off of his sandwich.

Both of the boys looked up at the unfinished wall and grew impressed by the sight. While Clay was admiring the wall art, Tim gazed back at the girl to figure out who she was and why she was sleeping on the floor.

"Miss," Tim whispered, hoping to wake her up. "Hello, Miss. Miss!"

Haley slowly opened her eyes and started smacking her lips by habit and found the short guy she saw with Nathan that night. Her eyes quickly widened and she sat up. Once her hair was out of her face and Tim could finally see her clearly, he figured it out.

"You're that girl!" he pointed out. "What are you doing here?" he questioned, loudly.

Haley grew shy from the eyes that were upon her. More and more workers started to arrive and they looked at her like they've never seen a girl before. But when she returned back to Tim's frustrated gaze, she felt embarrassed from the one night in the parking lot.

"I'm painting a mural," she answered.

"You did that?" Tim asked, pointing at the wall behind her.

She nodded bashfully. "I'm sorry if I did anything to bother you that night," she stated, gathering her things into one spot.

"She's the one who destroyed Nathan's car?" Clay questioned with a smile as he kept glancing between her and Tim.

"Yeah. This is the crazy girl that owes him a new Porsche," Tim exclaimed.

_Crazy girl? Is that what they've been calling me? The crazy girl? Now that's not something you want people spreading around_, she thought. "I-I'm- I'm actually doing this in replace of the money."

"Nathan agreed to that?" Tim asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I talked him into letting me do this instead," she replied lately.

"That's a first," Tim stated.

Haley looked at him confused. "What's a first?"

"Nathan would never trade money for anything less especially when it came to his precious car. That car was his life," Clay answered.

Haley turned to the blond brawn leaning against the dry part of the wall. He smiled at her. She recognized that smile – it was mischievous and naughty.

"How's he going to pay for his car if you can't give him the money?" Tim asked.

"Tim!" Nathan called out from the top of the steps. Everyone turned to him as they all watched him walk down the stairs. "I'll figure that out myself. And this is Haley, by the way, if you haven't figured that out yet," Nathan stated, finally making his way towards the guys. He glanced at Haley was who was sitting on the floor. "What are you doing down there?"

"Oh um," she began, lifting herself up from the ground. "I was sleeping."

"Sleeping?"

"I was tired so I took a nap. I don't paint well when I'm sleepy," Haley replied.

Nathan looked at her blankly. "You slept long enough?"

"Kind of," she answered lightly.

"Well, continue sleeping at home. I don't want any of my workers sleeping on the job," he advised. "That goes for all of you. I want to get this place done so we can start this business."

"I'll try to stay awake then," she stated.

He nodded at her, accepting her answer and rolled up his sleeves. "Let's start working," he ordered, patting Tim on the back. He turned away to grab some of the tools laid out for them and began working.

Haley watched as the guys gathered together to start fixing up the shop. The people surrounding him were really nice and friendly. Well, Tim was kind of mean to her especially when he was right in her face like a kid. Other than that, she couldn't understand why a man like him could be so cold. But she probably knew one reason why he was like that right now. Since they spoke about how precious his car was to him, he must've been heart broken. And she knew how it felt to lose something you cared for dearly. She was having a hard time as well.

**

* * *

**

"Hi dear, are you going to Haley's gallery next week?" Alex asked over the phone as she walked down the streets of the city. She had on a dark gray coat over a red and white polka-dotted dress with black four inch heels. The weather was getting colder and colder now that winter was arriving.

"No, I'm actually going to miss it," Julian lied. He still hadn't told Alex about Haley's tantrum at her house that morning. He knew that Alex would get mad at him if Haley found out about their relationship from someone else. She still treasured her friendship with Haley even if she was stealing away her boyfriend aka ex fiancé.

"Aw, too busy at the office, I guess?"

"Yeah, way too busy," he answered.

"Okay, well I just bought myself a new dress for it. I wanted to show you it, but I guess it'll have to wait."

"I'm sure it looks beautiful on you. But I'm about to head out for a meeting. I'll call you later, sweetie."

"Boo," she pouted. "You work too much."

"I know. I hate it too. I still love you though."

"Love you too, baby." They exchanged their goodbyes and she placed her phone back into her purse.

As she continued walking, she spotted the café shop that had been under construction for the past week. Alex passed by it a few times and noticed that there were a few handsome workers inside. Pretty much the whole city knew about it. People – particularly women – were already raving about the new coffee shop and it hadn't even been opened yet.

But as she stopped at the end of the sidewalk that lead to the entrance of the shop, she noticed Haley walking out with bags of trash. She was surprised to see her there.

"Haley?" she questioned.

She stuffed the bags into the large garbage can and turned towards the sound of the voice. Instantly, Haley could feel herself trembling at the sight of her ex-friend.

"Hi," she greeted lightly.

"I didn't know you worked here. What happened to the _Paint Shop_?" Alex asked as they both met each other half way.

She bit her lip as she tried to find the strength to answer her without trembling. "Oh I still work there," she answered.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I've been hired to paint a mural."

"Aw that's fantastic, Haley-Bop!" she complimented.

Haley's jaw tightened at sound of her childhood nickname. She hated that nickname. She wanted it to die, but Alex knew how to bring it back whenever she could. _She's so fake! Stop trying to act like my friend!_

"Yeah, it's awesome," Haley replied dryly.

Alex observed Haley's expression and felt the drought in Haley's attitude. "What's going on, Hales? You seem moody today."

Haley glanced at her friend, surprised that she actually asked that question. "As if you don't know," she stated.

"Did something happen to you?" Alex asked in concern.

Haley felt her heart breaking again. She didn't want to be reminded of her heart ache, but Alex obviously wanted to rub it in her face. She certainly didn't want to walk back into the shop looking weak, so she tried to calm herself down.

She ignored her question and took a second to breathe. "I have to get back to work," she said, turning on her heel to return to the cafe.

"Wait! Haley! What's going on?" she called out.

"Please, Alex, don't do this to me," Haley answered before walking back inside the shop.

Tilting her head at Haley's image inside the shop, Alex grew concerned. She watched Haley closely through the windows and noticed how she was wiping her eyes with the back of her left hand like she was crying. Then she noticed that there wasn't an engagement ring on her finger anymore. Instantly, she knew exactly what was going on. She and Julian broke up.

Alex swallowed the lump in her throat at her conclusion and took one more glance at Haley before she quickly walked out of her sight. She was so ashamed and angry at the same time. Ashamed because she was acting like Haley's friend while Haley was well aware of the affair. And she was angry because Julian forgot to mention their breakup.

From inside, Haley was having a hard time continuing the painting. After seeing Alex for the first time in days, it felt like a boulder had just smashed into her and she couldn't find strength to move. She tried her best to hold in the tears inside especially when she was surrounded by men. Nathan had already stated that he didn't want any weaklings working at his café. She wanted to show him that she was strong.

But where Nathan, Tim and Clay were working, they saw past her tough mask. They all noticed how depressed she was when she walked in. Whatever was making her sad was really doing a good job at it.

Nathan stepped aside and grabbed a paper towel to hand her. He knew that she was crying and trying to wipe them away before anyone could see them, but she wasn't fooling anyone.

"Here," he stated, handing her the tissue.

She stopped brushing a red color onto the wall and looked at him surprised. "I don't need it," she stated.

"I think you do." He pointed to the tear that was rolling down her cheek. "Just take it," he ordered.

She looked down embarrassed and grabbed the paper towel from his hand. "Thank you."

"Hurry and wipe those tears. I don't like weak people," he said.

She dabbed the napkin at the corner of her eyes and nodded her head. "I'll be strong then."

Nathan glanced at her project and couldn't help but be impressed by the picture right before his eyes. Just when he thought the painting he found at the _Paint Shop_ was amazing, she made something even better than that.

"I guess I didn't hire you for nothing."

**

* * *

**

"So how's work going?" Lydia asked, stuffing her sewing tools into the closet where she had everything organized and set up.

Haley pulled out her bowl of instant noodles and closed the microwave. "Which one?"

"You have more than one?" Vivian asked, walking out from the hallway with a chunky green mask on.

Haley was about to remove the cover off her noodles when she noticed the hideous gunk on her sister's face. "Ew, you know you're supposed to only put a thin layer on and not the whole bottle," Haley advised.

Lydia closed the closet and turned around. She immediately jumped at the sight of Vivian's monstrous appearance. Then she furrowed her eyes to observe the color. "Is that my face mask?"

"Um -," Vivian began as she watched her mother walk up to her and started sniffing her face.

Lydia could smell the scent of mint on her skin. "It is mine! Child, I told you not to use my stuff."

"Mom," she complained. "I had this huge pimple on my cheek and I needed to get rid of it. Don't you want at least one pretty daughter?"

Haley's jaw clenched at the comment, but didn't take it to heart. "Again, don't use the whole bottle," Haley stated, adding the seasoning into her plastic bowl of soup. Then she walked across the kitchen to grab a fork from the drawers.

"Enough about my face, and let's talk about Haley's other job she supposedly has," Vivian stated, grabbing an orange from the center piece on the dining table.

"What's the other job, honey?" Lydia asked.

"Someone hired me to paint a mural at their new coffee shop," Haley answered without revealing the owner and sat the dinner table.

Vivian stopped peeling the orange and looked up. "Did you say coffee shop?"

"Yeah."

"Is it the one down town by the ice cream place?" Vivian questioned.

Haley looked at her sister curiously. "Yes," she said slowly. "Why?"

"I went there the other day and I saw him. The Porsche guy."

"Oh, yeah," Haley replied sarcastically. "Um, he's the one who hired me."

"HE WHAT!" Vivian exclaimed. "How could he hire you?"

"Because he thought my paintings were good." She started stirring her hot noodles and grabbed some onto her fork.

"You destroyed his car and," she looked her sister up and down. "You're not easy on the eye. What made him do such a thing?"

Haley stopped eating her food and glared at her sister. "I wish I could just sew your mouth up so I wouldn't have to hear you speak. And if it wasn't for me, we would still have a debt to him."

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked.

"I told him that it was going to be hard to find 120k in two weeks so I made a deal with him. I told him that I'd paint his mural to without pay. It was my way of paying him back."

"Are you serious? Just for a painting?" Vivian questioned.

"Yeah," Haley smiled. "He's got a softer side after all."

Her sister rolled her eyes and continued peeling the fruit. "Whatever. I don't think that's enough. It looked like he liked that Porsche. A lot."

"Maybe we should still find money to help pay for his car," Lydia suggested.

"Mom! I just got rid of our debt."

"Still, the poor man's car got destroyed. I think it would be fair to at least pay for some of it."

"It's not like your so-called 'mural' cost 120k, anyways," her little sister stated.

Haley stuffed her face with noodles as she glared at her family members. How could they be suggesting to pay for more of the car when she already fixed the problem? They were too considerate, or at least her mother was. Vivian was just being a brat.

"I thought you guys would be happy that I resolved the issue," she mumbled.

"Oh I'm glad!" Vivian retorted. "I'm just surprised that it was over a stupid mural."

"Vivian, be nice to your sister. She took a job to save our butts. And she's not even getting paid for it. That's sacrifice," Lydia stated as she sat at the dining table as well. She observed Haley and sighed. "But I do think we should give back a little more too."

"If that's what you want," Haley mumbled, avoiding any eye contact. "Vivian needs to pitch in too!"

She scoffed and pouted. "How?"

"Work at the _Paint Shop_."

"Ew with Mr. Kim?"

"Yes with Mr. Kim. Don't bad mouth him."

"That sounds like a good idea, Haley," Lydia smiled. "It will help her learn how to be responsible for once."

Vivian groaned and chewed on a piece of the orange she peeled off. She glanced at Haley and mouthed "I hate you" to her and walked out of the room.

**

* * *

**

Haley put the finishing touches on the mural and smiled at the whole sight of the painting. It took about three days to finally perfect it and she was finally done. Every now and then the workers would compliment her work and she'd smile at them.

Clay in particular would try his best to admire her painting process. From the moment he saw Haley lying on the ground, he found her interesting. She wasn't like many girls he associated himself with. She was obviously not dressed like the girls he usually flirted with, but something about her attracted him to her. And she wasn't ugly either. She was actually very pretty. When Clay liked someone, he wasn't afraid to show it and be direct about it.

Tim, on the other hand, didn't quite like Haley. He thought she was a sloppy dresser and a conniver especially after their first meeting at the restaurant parking lot. And since Nathan didn't show any interest in her, he didn't either. It kind of made Haley feel a little bad about herself. She didn't do anything – well scratch that, she did do something– but she wasn't a bad person. She made one mistake. Everyone makes mistakes; she just wished they'd see past that.

Haley placed her brushes into the bucket and looked around her, hoping to find Nathan. She wanted to get a final opinion on her mural just in case he wanted something more. So she stood up from the floor and searched around the shop to find him.

The place was slowly getting cleaned up. The walls were now fixed and painted. The counter was now beautifully waxed and the chalk board looked brand new as if it was just brought in from the store. The floors were spotless and shiny. The ceiling no longer had cracks and the bench area connected to the windows was secure and stable. All that needed to be done was to bring in all the new furniture, dishes, and coffee appliances.

She thought he was probably outside, so she walked towards the outside patio. Once she turned the corner, she bumped into someone familiar. He was tall and had wavy brown hair. And she just stared at him, trying to figure out who he was.

"Haley?" he questioned.

_He knew my name? _She looked at him puzzled. "You look familiar," she stated.

"Jake. Jake Jagielski. We went to high school together. I was in your psychology class, remember?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Jake! How are you?" she asked.

"I'm great. I haven't seen you in years," he stated.

"Yeah well, I haven't seen a lot of people since high school. What are you doing here?"

"I actually heard that this place was hiring. I'm just checking to see if I could talk to the boss. Do you work here?"

"Um. I'm just working on a mural," she answered.

"Do you want to work here?" she heard someone say from behind her.

Haley turned around and found Nathan standing there, holding a cardboard box of bottles. _Work here?_ She wasn't quite sure how to answer that. She wasn't sure how she could even work in a coffee shop. She didn't know a lot about making coffee nor being a waitress. But after hearing her mother say that she needed to do more than just paint a mural for him, she thought maybe this could do it.

"You want me to work here?" Haley repeated.

Nathan placed the box down beside his feet and brushed the dirt off his hands. "I was going to make this an all men work place, but since you're already working for me, I might as well hire you too."

"Uh," Haley began.

"Hire her," Clay stated, smiling from the kitchen doors.

"You're going to hire her?" Tim questioned unhappily as he stood by the counter with a broom in his hand.

"Yeah, if she wants to," Nathan replied, waiting for Haley's answer.

"I guess," she stated. "I owe you more than just a mural anyways."

Nathan lifted an eyebrow and began to think. He realized that she was right. He actually had enough money in the bank to pay for a new car, he just wanted her to pay for it since she destroyed it. But seeing that she was willing to slave after him and do things for him was good enough. She was pretty smart after all. And he began nodding his head, impressed. "Good thinking," he complimented. Then he glanced at the guy standing behind Haley. "You want to work here too?"

"Um –"

Haley observed Jake's expression. She could tell that he was kind of nervous especially with Nathan's straight forward personality. If she was going to work here, she at least wanted someone she knew around. Nathan didn't really like her. Tim was just a shorter and happier replica of Nathan who didn't like her. And Clay was a big flirt who she didn't really feel comfortable with. Jake was the only guy who she was familiar with. Even if she couldn't recognize him at first, she at least remembered who he was.

"Yeah, he wants to work here," Haley answered for him.

Nathan looked at her. "Does he have work experience?"

She turned to Jake and asked, "Do you have work experience?"

"Yeah, I worked at a bakery for a while."

"Then you're hired," Nathan said quickly. He bent down to grab the box and headed out the door.

"Really? I'm hired just like that?" Jake asked.

"Congratulations!" Haley smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

"Wow, that's quick. I thought that I needed an interview or something."

"You should be glad. That man right there isn't as friendly as he looks," Haley joked.

Nathan placed the box of trash into the garbage and turned around. He heard what Haley said and gave her a look. "Watch out for this one. She damages people's cars. So try not to make her angry," he advised, sarcastically grinning at the two at the door and entered the shop to continue cleaning up the place.

Haley scoffed at his comment and turned to Jake nervously. "He doesn't know what he's saying. Do you want to see my painting?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Uh sure," Jake replied as she led him inside.

**

* * *

**

While Haley was working at the café for the last couple of days, Vivian was at the _Paint Shop._ She had never been so bored in her life. She sat behind the counter for the past two hours, waiting and watching as customers walked in and out. But not one of them wanted to buy anything. They all just browsed around and touched the paintings as if they were toys. She even saw one girl break a piece of a sculpture on accident, but she didn't do anything about it.

Popping her bubblegum, she skimmed through her fashion magazine she brought in from home. Mr. Kim went out to lunch, leaving Vivian in charge of the store. He was gone for a while, so he was coming back pretty soon. She flipped a page and heard heels clanking against the floor. So she slowly looked up and found none other than Alex walking in. Vivian wasn't surprised to see that she was wearing the shortest shorts known to man.

Vivian glared at her and closed her magazine as Alex approached the counter. "Hey Vivvy! I didn't know you worked here."

She rolled her eyes and replied, "What do you want?"

Alex noticed the tone in her voice and cleared her throat. She probably had an idea why Vivian was acting that way. "I wanted to talk to Haley. Is she around?"

"She's busy."

"Oh, is she going to be busy all day?"

"Possibly," Vivian replied, annoyed. She couldn't stand how friendly she was acting towards her. _Slut_, was all that Vivian could think of when she laid her eyes on her. "Don't you have some mistress work to do?"

Alex furrowed her eyes at her comment. "What did you just say?"

"Oh nothing," she smiled.

"You said mistress work."

"Right, that's what I said," Vivian replied as she reopened her magazine. "I have short-term memory sometimes. I don't even know what I'm saying." She blew a bubble and started examining the outfits on the page.

Alex sighed deeply and put most of her weight on her left leg. "You know, don't you?"

"That you're the slut Julian's been cheating with?" she looked up. "Then yes, I know."

She closed her eyes in shame and leaned against the counter to be closer to Vivian. "Look, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to hurt Haley's feelings. It just happened."

"Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not the girl who was supposed to marry your boyfriend. If you want to talk to her, go find her yourself," Vivian replied, flipping through another page in the magazine.

"VIVIAN!"

Both girls turned to the screeching voice and found Mr. Kim holding up a piece that had broken off one of the most expensive sculptures.

"What is this!" he yelled.

"I don't know, what is it?" Vivian replied.

Alex could tell that they had a little predicament of their own going on, so she decided to jet out before she witnessed a murder.

"Bye," Alex stated before leaving the store and avoiding any eye contact with Mr. Kim.

* * *

The furniture truck pulled into the driveway of the café as everyone waited at the door way to see what was inside. Nathan had ordered some pretty expensive furniture online. When the driver opened the back, revealing the pieces inside, all the workers were stunned especially Percy. There were red modern couches, black tables and chairs, a few solid colored shelves, a shaggy carpet, and a few vases of different shapes.

"Come on, guys!" Nathan ordered, walking up to the truck.

"How much did this cost?"

"A couple thousands," he answered, lifting a table out.

Percy's eyes widened at the amount and started scratching his ear to see if it was working right. "A couple thousands? We have a budget, Nathan. We have to return all this!" he demanded.

"Sorry, no can do!" Nathan refused. "My cafe, my choices. I want this café to look good." He looked up and noticed that his employees weren't moving an inch towards the truck. "Is anybody going to help me?"

Tim, Clay and Jake immediately stepped off the sidewalk and started grabbing pieces.

Haley remained standing behind Percy who was not very happy with Nathan's decision about the furniture. She kind of agreed with Mr. Percy. Since she knew what it was like to save up money, she understood the policy of a budget. You can only get so much with a budget. And she could tell that Nathan had no clue how to be responsible with money. _Spoiled rich boy doesn't know how to work in real life, what a shame_.

"This is a coffee shop where we sell coffee. It doesn't matter if it looks good or not. We've already spent a lot fixing the place," Percy stated.

Nathan grabbed a table and started walking into the shop with it, ignoring Percy all together. The guys did the same thing and placed them all into the main room of the café. And Haley wasn't quite sure what to do. She was agreeing with Mr. Percy but she also had the urge to help out since Nathan was the guy she owed a debt to.

"Haley!" Nathan called out.

Haley hesitated to step away from Mr. Percy who was wrinkling his nose at the whole event. He was older than Nathan and much much wiser than him too. Plus, he was also the owner of the café. If no one was going to listen to him or support him in anything, this place was not going to turn out well. So she refused to take part in any of the furniture moving.

"I agree with Mr. Percy. We should return all of this or maybe some of it and get used furniture, instead . They're cheaper," she suggested, standing right outside the door.

Nathan placed the table on the ground and wiped his brow, surprised by Haley's answer. He slowly walked over to the doorway where the old man and the unfashionable girl stood and he just stared at them.

"You're agreeing with him?" Nathan questioned.

"Yeah. I think he knows what he's talking about," she replied. "We have a budget so we should be wise with it."

Nathan chuckled and leaned against the door frame. He looked her up and down and smiled at her. "You're telling me that I should be wise? Take a look at yourself. You certainly were wise about picking your outfit today."

Haley's eyes widened at that comment and scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"I'm the boss here, _bat girl_. If you want to tell me what to do, you should go somewhere else to do that. But until you know how to dress yourself and know if a car belongs to your fiancé or not, you shouldn't give me any advice about how I should do anything."

"Nathan!" Percy called out.

Haley's jaw tightened. "I'm just trying to help you out here. You can have all this nice furniture in this café all you want, but I bet you that you will not make any business if you spend all the money on this."

"Like you know what you're talking about."

"Well, have you ever dealt with money before?" she questioned with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, everyday," he laughed.

Clay, Tim and Jake stood inside of the cafe, listening to the two argue. And all of them shook their heads at Nathan in shame. All of them understood the complications of dealing with money. Nathan was the only privileged one in the group. So he had no clue at all.

"Right," she replied, annoyed. She wasn't going to say anything. She knew that their conversation wasn't going to go anywhere. So she stepped inside the café and grabbed a piece of furniture and walked out with it.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Nathan called out, following her as she put the table back into the truck.

"I'm helping you out," she replied.

Nathan grabbed the table and placed it back on the concrete. "No, you're not."

Haley lifted it back up. "Yes, I am!"

"No, you're not!" he replied, stopping her from moving the piece of furniture.

"YES I AM!"

And they continued like this for a little bit longer, battling over the possession of the table. The driver of the truck stood on the side, watching them like they were a couple of wild animals fighting over a piece of meat.

"Um, are we returning the furniture or not?" he questioned.

"YES"  
"NO!"

Haley and Nathan both turned to each other in anger.

"What is it? I'm on a time limit here," the delivery man stated.

"Haley, let go of the table!" Nathan demanded, both of them gripping onto the piece of furniture for dear life.

Haley stuck her tongue out at Nathan for a second and looked at the truck driver on the sidewalk. But then her eyes widened at the sight behind him. It was Julian. He was walking down the street with his suitcase and an ice cream cone in his hand. She had forgotten that his office was just a few blocks away from here. She could feel her heart racing at the sight of him. Even if he cheated on her, she still loved him dearly and somehow wanted him back. And for a moment, Julian's eyes moved towards her, making her freeze on the spot. Her eyes widened and she took her hands off the table. And she knelt down to cover up her face.

Nathan smiled when she let go, but he grew confused when she crouched down into a ball on the floor.

He turned to the driver and said, "We're keeping the furniture."

"Alright," he stated.

Nathan looked down at Haley as she kept craning her head to see if Julian was still walking. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm hiding from someone," she whispered.

"She is psycho, isn't she?" Tim mumbled towards Clay as they all watched from the window.

"She's not psycho," Jake stated.

Both Tim and Clay turned towards Jake. For the past couple of days, Tim and Clay have noticed that Jake was at the café helping out. They didn't see him there before. They didn't even know that he was hired to be an employee there. They were completely oblivious.

"Who are you anyways?" Tim questioned.

Jake looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"Get up," Nathan ordered.

"Not until he's gone," Haley replied, looking under the truck to see if she could see his feet. When she did, there was no one walking along the street. She sighed deeply and looked up relieved, but when she did, she saw Julian walking around the truck. "Oh my gosh," she gasped.

"Oh my gosh, what?" Nathan questioned as he turned around to see a man with dirty blond hair in a nice suit walking towards them. "Who's that?"

"No one," Haley replied, rolling under the truck.

"Haley?" Julian called out.

Nathan turned away from the guy and noticed that Haley wasn't there anymore.

"Wasn't that Haley?" Julian called out again.

Nathan furrowed his eyes and lifted the table to bring back into the café. "Can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but I thought I saw someone I knew."

"Oh," Nathan replied. "Short, blond hair, dresses like a hobo?" Haley sneered at his comment from under the truck and pretended to slap him on his ankles.

"Yeah," Julian answered. Haley scoffed and pretended to slap Julian's ankles too. "Wasn't she just here?"

"Um," Nathan began, peeking down only to see Haley's index finger wiggling at him. He furrowed his eyes and looked back up to Julian. "I think she walked that way," Nathan continued, pointing behind him.

"Are you sure?" Julian questioned.

_Just leave! I don't want to see you! _Haley thought.

"I'm pretty sure she went that way," Nathan nodded.

"Maybe I was just seeing things, thanks though," Julian stated before walking away from the truck and back onto the sidewalk.

Haley observed him until his vanished from her sight and she sighed in relief. She rolled back out from under the truck and dusted her clothes off.

"Who was that?" Nathan questioned.

"Just someone I wish would just go away," Haley replied, annoyed. "Thanks for the help," she smiled.

"It's whatever," Nathan replied before returning to the café with the table in his hands.

Haley blew out a heavy sigh and scratched her head. She felt something papery and pulled it out. It a was a few autumn leaves from the ground. She pouted and grabbed a lamp from the truck, disappointed that she lost the battle to return the furniture. She was only trying to help him out since she owed him. But she also wanted to help him create a successful business. He looked like he had potential to create a good coffee shop, but with his stubborn and spoiled personality, she wasn't sure how far he could go.

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**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I really really appreciate all the kind and inspirational words you all have given me! You have no idea how excited I get when I read your words. Incredible. So I tried my hardest to update as quick as I could. I didn't want to make another 4 or 7 day delay for the next chapter. So I worked extra hard to write and rewrite this next chapter for you all before school began again Monday. I wish I had already pre-written more chapters, but I didn't. I just got so excited to post this story that I didn't do it. **jazey23 -** hi deary! you really read all of my stories? aghh you're too too kind and I'm very honored to be your new favorite author. I hope to continue to make you laugh and happy with my stories. I'll be sure to continue Steadfast. Many people have been looking forward to the next chapter. I will continue it. I just don't know when. I hope it's okay if you wait a little longer :) And yes we don't hear a lot from Vivian in the show, so I thought I should add her in it but as a younger sister. Again thank you for the wonderful words! As for everyone else who left me lovely reviews, I'm so glad you loved the last chapter and thought that this story had potential. And I'm also very glad to hear that this story is completely different from PLL except the whole debt thing. I really wanted to separate the two from each other. And haha I can see everyone does not like Alex. - - poor Alex. She needs a beating,doesn't she? Well I'm going to cut this author's note shorter so you can read the brand new chapter! I hope you enjoy. lol

**_Annie._**

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**Chapter 4**

"When are you coming back to work at the _Paint Shop?"_ Vivian complained, lying on Haley's bed.

She held a dress in front of her while looking at her reflection in the mirror and shrugged her shoulders. "I do go to work. I go during your school hours and then I go straight to the café. But today, I have an art gallery to prepare for, so you have to work tonight."

Vivian groaned and made a face at Haley's choice of clothing. "You don't have to work at that café anymore. You can take your job back."

Haley placed the dress on the vanity mirror and turned around to face her little sister. "And spoil your fun working there? No thanks," she smiled, walking across her room to grab a pair of shoes.

"I no longer have a life because of you," Vivian groaned, pouting as she kicked Haley's pillows.

"Well you can get over it," Haley mumbled, walking back to mirror to grab the dress. She placed her shoes on the floor and observed her outfit. It was a shiny silver trapeze dress that she bought a long time ago, but never managed to wear. "Does this look good?" she asked Vivian.

Her sister laid back – her long hair cascading on the floor - and examined the upside down silver dress in front of her. It was something she didn't see Haley wear often and it was pretty cute. So she gave her older sister an impressed thumb's up.

"Check!" she replied.

"Good," Haley smiled. "I want to look good for this art gallery. There's going to be a lot of local artists and out of state artists coming to this event."

"Do you really have to go to this?"

"Yes, I helped the Peyton work on one of her paintings and she wanted me to come. I can't break my promise."

"Grrr," Vivian responded, sitting up. She noticed the picture of her and Julian on her side table and rolled her eyes. "Have you spoken to Julian or Alex lately?"

Haley stopped looking at the dress immediately at the mention of their names. "No, and I hope I never get to."

"Then why do you still have Julian's picture in your room?" Vivian questioned, showing Haley the picture frame in the mirror.

It still hurt. Her heart still stung at the memory of him eating dinner with one of her best friends. It wasn't going to be easy to forget about the one man she loved. She still couldn't understand the reason why he did that to her in the first place. And the worst part about this was the fact that she still loved him even if he did run off with some other woman. Loving someone else who didn't love you back – that was the hardest part of it all.

**

* * *

**

Julian put his jacket on and combed his fingers through his hair before he opened the door of his office building to leave for the art gallery Haley was attending. He thought it would be a good opportunity to see her there without her knowing. Since it was going to be at a pretty spacious building, it was possible that she wouldn't even know that he was there at all.

He opened the door to leave for the night and pulled his keys out of his pocket. Right when he turned around to lock his door, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He suddenly grew scared and dropped his keys.

"You look nice," Alex complimented. "Where are you headed?"

Julian sighed in relief and picked up his keys from the floor. "Alex, you scared me."

She lifted an eyebrow and started tapping her foot on the floor. "You're going to the art show, aren't you?"

"What?" he questioned nervously. "No, I'm not. I'm going out to eat at um . . . with some friends."

"I thought you were working?"

"Yeah, we're having a meeting at the restaurant." Alex swung her purse around and slammed it against his shoulder. "Ow!"

"Are you trying to trick me! I know you're going to the art gallery. And I know that you and Haley already broke up!"

He winced at the sting on his shoulder and rubbed his hand against it. "How did you figure that out?"

"Haley and Vivian," she retorted. "You told me you were going to tell her after the art gallery! Now my best friend hates me!" she pouted.

"I didn't tell her. She found out on her own," Julian explained.

Alex's eyes widened. "How? When?"

"She saw us at Rosetta's."

"I knew we should've gone somewhere else," she said through her teeth. "But how come you didn't tell me? I looked like a fool talking to Haley and Vivian!"

"I was going to tell you after the gallery. I didn't think you'd find out before it."

"So you were just going to lie to me until then?"

"I wanted to keep you from harm."

Alex glared at him, feeling like he was fooling with her just like he did with Haley. After seeing the pain and hurt in Haley's face, she didn't want to be involved with him anymore. Not even for a second.

"Only lies come out of that mouth of yours," she retorted, turning around to leave.

Julian stepped forward to grab her by the wrist. "Wait a minute! My lies? What about yours? You've been lying to your own best friend for six months! What about that?"

"Don't you dare turn this around on me!" she replied. "Now let me go! I can't believe I even went through all this for you!"

"Wait, wait, I'm sorry. Okay, I'm sorry. I should've told you," Julian apologized, keeping Alex close. "Just forgive me. And we can be together. Just trust me," he stated, holding her hand against his chest.

She chuckled dryly and whipped her hand away from his grip. "I must've been crazy for getting involved with you!" Alex stomped down the steps to climb back into her car.

"Alex! Alex!" he called out, but she sped off before he could stop her.

**

* * *

**

Nathan took a sip from his beer bottle and tossed a salty French fry in his mouth. He was sitting at a restaurant down town with Clay and Tim after a long day of working at the café. Nathan made a big mistake of spending all that money on the furniture. He should've listened to Percy and Haley. Now he just had a little less than enough left to order the coffee beans and other needed supplies. Nathan couldn't believe that all that furniture was going to downsize his budget. He even called his father about it, and he told him that he wasn't going to give him any loans. He had to figure it all out himself.

"How many sacks are you going to order?" Clay questioned, biting into his burger.

"From what I read from the brochure, one 25 pound bag of roasted coffee beans is about $150 -$200," Nathan answered.

"Damn! All that for coffee beans?" Clay responded.

"It's a cafe, what do you expect me to buy? Folger's coffee cans?" Nathan retorted.

"I'm just saying. I didn't think it would cost so much."

"That's why I'm being careful with the money we have left."

"You should've just listened to Haley and returned the pieces of furniture," Clay stated.

"Hey, give Nathan a break. He didn't know," Tim put in, reaching over to grab a few fries from Clay's plate.

Clay shook his head and sipped from his beer. "I'm just saying that she was right. Both she and Mr. Percy were right. She's a pretty smart girl. I like her."

Tim choked on his food and tapped on his chest. "You like her?"

"I think she's kind of cute, don't you think?" Clay smiled.

"You must be drunk already," Tim stated "She's the girl who ruined our buddy's car!" he added, leaning forward in his seat dramatically.

"Nathan got another one didn't he?"

Tim sat back and turned to Nathan who was minding his own business. "Yeah, but that was his car! You know how Nathan is with his cars."

"We're not in high school anymore," Clay stated. "Just because Nathan dislikes her for ruining his car, doesn't mean you should hate her too. Like someone if you want to like someone."

"She's not even your type," Tim stated.

"Who says I have a type?"

Nathan chuckled. "Tall, thin, tan, hotties who wear shorts and dresses above the knee but right below the ass," he explained. "That's your type. And Haley is far from that."

Clay laughed. He couldn't help but admit that that was true. "I can change my mind."

"Whatever rows your boat," Nathan shook his head.

Tim made a disgusted face just thinking about Haley. He didn't think Haley was all that great. Clay would never act like he was on cloud nine over a girl who looked like that. She was a girl – yes – but not a very well-dressed, clear minded girl. And he barely even knew her. Tim believed that she was the type of girl who had secrets up her sleeves and that one day she'll ruin their lives. Nathan's car was just proof of that. So he was being cautious around her.

Nathan ignored getting into the conversation about Haley. He wasn't quite sure what he thought of her yet. Apparently Clay and Tim knew where they stood with her. He still detested her for even getting the guts to touch his car. She smashed it for goodness' sakes. Even though Nathan had enough money to buy a new one, it didn't mean he was careless with his possessions. But then there were moments he was impressed with her work effort and her talent, which was confusing him about his hatred towards her. He hated her but then he also respected her. He wasn't even quite sure yet.

"Anyways, since the café is almost done, we should start training next week," Nathan suggested, changing the subject.

"Training?" Clay asked.

"Yeah, Mr. Percy used to be a bistro back in the day so he's going to be teaching us how to brew coffee and tea. It's the only thing he's good at," he replied.

"You need to train to make coffee?" Tim questioned.

"He told me that there were certain ways to make it depending on what the customers want," Nathan answered. "So we'll start that up Monday."

"I'm so glad you gave us the weekend off because I'm starting to get sick of that place!" Tim complained.

**

* * *

**

Haley climbed out of her car and smiled at the sight of the art gallery. The light from inside shone through the large windows. She could even see all the beautiful portraits displayed on the walls. And she couldn't wait to browse around and observe all the fine pieces this local artist had in store for everyone. Haley was especially excited to see the reactions on people's faces when they take a look at the painting she worked on with the artist.

She walked inside and noticed that there were a lot of people already looking around.

"Haley! You arrived!" the hostess, Peyton, greeted. She had a glass of wine in one hand so she gave her a one arm embrace. "Everyone is raving over that painting we worked on together. Come look!"

"Really?" Haley responded, surprised as Peyton led her towards the middle room quickly.

"Yes, really. People are even bidding on the first buy."

Haley's eyes widened in shock as she practically slid across the gallery, skipping all the fantastic portraits and paintings in the front room, towards the middle room where the majority of people were admiring the large framed paintings on the wall.

"I'd pay $1,000 for this," she heard one bearded man say as he sipped from his glass of wine.

"I think it looks more like a $5,000 portrait. Or maybe even more," another manr replied.

"It's kind of like a Rauschenberg piece but with more paint and less material."

"So it must be about $500,000 worth!"

"See," Peyton whispered as they both eavesdropped on the conversations based on the painting. "Everyone loves it!"

Haley never thought she would be able to create a painting that would impress so many people. They were already bidding on it with high prices. She was so happy that a smile automatically appeared on her face. And she couldn't take it off no matter how hard she wanted to.

"That's amazing!" Haley gasped.

A waitress walked by them with a tray of wine glasses and Peyton grabbed one for Haley. "I know. You are truly talented."

She accepted the compliment shyly and sipped from her glass. "I only worked on a bits and pieces of it."

"Don't be modest. You did the majority of it. People love it, so you should be proud," Peyton replied, patting her well-manicured nails over her shoulder. "Just wait until you have your own art show, people are going to love you."

"I'm not sure how soon that will be. I haven't created many pieces lately."

"Well it takes time for an artist to fulfill their expectations. So no rush on that," Peyton smiled.

Haley nodded and sipped from her glass one more time. She observed everyone in the room and couldn't help but notice the couple standing arm in arm in front of the contemporary pieces. She immediately felt her heart ache at the sight. Julian was supposed to be at this event with her, congratulating her on her success and complimenting on her outfit. It was one of the events she was excited to share with him, but now it was all just a waste.

Peyton noticed the despair written on Haley face and examined her left hand that was holding the glass.

"Where's your gigantic engagement ring?" she asked.

Haley zoned out from her thoughts and glanced at her ring finger. "Oh," she began. "Julian and I are no longer together."

Surprised, Peyton's eyes widened. "What? I thought you were two were totally in love!"

"Well apparently he was in love with someone else," Haley answered in a soft tone.

The curly blonde scoffed and furrowed her eyes. "He cheated on you?"

"It's okay, I'm trying to get over it."

"Oh it is not okay," Peyton exclaimed. "How could he cheat on you? Look at you!"

"Apparently I'm not the girl he wanted, so," she shrugged her shoulders and took another sip from her glass.

Peyton sighed deeply. She could tell that Haley wasn't in the mood to talk about it, so she sealed her mouth and embraced her friend in a hug instead.

"He didn't deserve you anyways," she mumbled.

"Thanks, Peyton."

"No problem," Peyton replied, parting ways with Haley. She glanced towards the entrance and found a familiar brunette walking in wearing a black dress. "Isn't that your friend, right there?"

Haley turned round and found Alex standing there. Immediately, she grew nervous and angry at the sight.

"Alex," she whispered.

"What a good friend! Supporting you at a time like this," Peyton smiled.

Haley swallowed the lump in her throat and downed the rest of her wine. "Yeah, such a good friend!" Haley replied, sarcastically.

Alex walked in confidently, greeting people as she passed – proud of her sexy outfit- and spotted Haley and Peyton in the middle of the room. She waved lightly at them, but she only received a wave from Peyton. Haley just stared at her blankly as if she wasn't even worth looking at.

"Wow, Haley, you look pretty today!" Alex complimented, walking up to them. "And beautiful art pieces, Peyton. So beautiful!"

"Well thanks, Alex. I try," Peyton smiled, oblivious of the tension between Alex and Haley.

Haley furrowed her eyes at her and shook her head, disappointed. "How could even show your face here?"

"You're my friend, I should support you," Alex stated, hoping to regain her friendship back.

"That's amazing!" Haley exclaimed dryly. "I know what you did. You think I don't know?"

Peyton stepped back, confused by Haley's sudden change of attitude.

Alex sighed. "That's why I came here for, Haley-Bop. I wanted to make up for what I did. I broke up with Julian, so you should be happy."

She scoffed. "Do you want me to congratulate you?"

"No. That's not what I mean. Our friendship is more important to me than him. We shouldn't end our friendship over a guy."

Haley lifted her eyebrows, surprised. She was so nonchalant about breaking up with Julian as if it was the easiest thing to do. _What a hussy!_

"You think it's that easy for me to forgive you? Do you even know what you did? If my friendship was more important to you than him, then why did you steal my lover from me?"

"Lover?" Alex laughed without realizing it. "He has to love you to be your lover. And I didn't steal him, Haley. He came to me."

Haley could feel her blood boil in her veins. _Alex really had the nerve to come up here and flaunt her raunchy body at the gallery just so she could rub Julian's love for her in my face! I hate her!_

"But you still went ahead and lied to me. Is that how important our friendship is to you? To go ahead and make my fiancé fall in love with you, slut!"

"Haley, Haley, Haley. It's not my fault that he wanted someone who was able to please him when he needed it," Alex replied.

That's was it. Haley had enough of it. She stepped forward angrily and grabbed fists full of Alex's hair, pulling her head side to side. Alex screamed in agony at the pain in her skull and started shoving Haley off of her. They screamed and pushed each other in the middle of the gallery, making everyone there stare at them in shame. It looked so dirty and unladylike to be fighting in the middle of an elegant art gallery like that. It just wasn't classy at all.

Peyton put her glass of wine back on the tray one of the waitresses had and stepped forward to separate the two angry girls. She was totally embarrassed to have this happen at her event. She couldn't let it continue anymore.

"SLUT!"

"WHORE!"

They shouted names at each other until Peyton finally pulled Haley away from Alex.

"Stop it," Peyton demanded. She looked over at the brunette girl and directed her out of the gallery. "If you two are going to fight, do it outside. This is my special day. Don't ruin it for me!"

Alex glared at Haley and fixed the tangle in her hair.

"I don't want to waste another minute looking at her," Haley replied.

Peyton nodded, accepting Haley's order and turned to Alex whose finger was stuck in her hair. "Get out."

"What?" Alex questioned.

"I said get out before I call security," Peyton ordered.

"She's the one who went towards me first!"

"Did you really think coming here knowing what you did to her was going to be okay?"

Alex scoffed and licked her lips. She glanced at Haley whose hair was sticking out in different directions and sighed.

"FIne, I'll leave."

"Please," Peyton stated.

Alex fixed her dress and avoided any eye contact with the people watching them. And she walked out, shamefully.

When she finally disappeared through the glass doors, Peyton turned to Haley and shook her head in disappointment.

"She was the one Julian cheated with?" she asked.

"Obviously," Haley replied, smoothing her hair out. She looked around her and noticed the judging eyes surrounding her. She sighed deeply and looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry I am embarrassed you."

Peyton nodded. "Well, if it had to happen, I guess it had to happen here. I forgive you though. But try not to do that again next time, okay?"

Haley smiled nervously. "I promise."

**

* * *

**

Later that evening, Nathan, Clay and Tim finally finished having dinner and they left to go back home. Nathan climbed into his new Porsche that he bought with his own money and the money Haley owed him and started driving along the high way. He was so glad that he got his car back. This time, he got it in a darker color just so Haley wouldn't get confused again. Even though he figured Haley probably learned her lesson not to touch his car by now, he was still scared of what she was capable of doing. He didn't really know much about her except that she was a painter, had a sister, and wasn't as wealthy as him.

Right after the gallery, Haley went straight to a liquor store and started drinking the whole bottle on the sidewalk. She was so stressed out and heartbroken over the event that happened today and over her recent breakup, that she resorted to alcohol to ease her pain. She couldn't help herself. It wasn't something that she did often or at all, but it seemed like the only choice right now. Plus, she already had champagne and wine in her system and all she wanted was more.

As Nathan was driving back to his house, he stopped at a stop light near the art gallery. He casually glanced out his window and noticed something on the sidewalk, leaning against the bumper of a car. He didn't think much of it and he returned back to the light. But then he realized that the thing lying on the floor looked familiar. So he glanced at the womanly figure on the sidewalk. He tilted his head to observe the person. When she moved her hair out of her face, he realized that it was Haley. He furrowed eyes in concern and wondered what she was doing there at this time. Then he glanced down and noticed the liquor bottle in her hand.

BEEP! BEEP!

Nathan stopped watching her and realized that the light turned green. So he went ahead to stop the cars behind him from griping and turned back around to check on her.

"Stupid Julian! Cheating on me with that sluuuut!" she slurred, taking another sip from the bottle.

Nathan parked right next to her car, and climbed out. He walked up to her and watched as she swayed slowly side to side.

"Haley?" he knelt down in front of her and noticed her outfit. It was actually decent looking this time. But she certainly didn't look so lovely drunk with her eye makeup smeared all over her face.

"Hmm?" she responded, slowly dragging her eyes up to see the blurry vision of Nathan in front of her. "Porsche man!" she laughed.

Nathan nodded his head in amusement. "Yes, it's me."

"What are you doing here!" she questioned, suddenly changing moods.

"I'm just checking on you," he answered. "I think you've been drinking too much," he added, grabbing the bottle from her hands.

"Nope!" she responded, pulling the bottle away from him. He grabbed it and placed it far away from her. She was too drunk to even go searching for it and he returned back to her side.

"I got to go home," she mumbled, trying to push herself up from the ground. Her legs were spread wide open, surprising Nathan, so he pushed her back down and readjusted her dress.

He sighed deeply. "You're not sober enough to drive. I'll drive you," he suggested.

"You?" she questioned, poking her finger right on his nose. Nathan was surprised by the sudden touch, and pushed her finger down. But she put her finger back on the tip of his nose again. "You have a broken car."

"I got a new one," he replied, holding her hand away from his face.

"New one? Boys always get new things when they don't like the old ones," she pouted. "I'm just like your old Porsche, broken and abandoned." Nathan observed her eyes as they started to moisten with tears and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "I hate men!" she cried out. "Hate hate hate!" she repeated, hitting him on top of his head crazily.

"HEY! STOP IT!" he demanded, wincing at the slaps on his head. He quickly grabbed her by the waist and picked her up from the concrete floor. He noticed that she dropped her purse, so he bent back down to pick it up for her. Then he started walking up to his car with her draped over his shoulder.

"AHHHH! KIDNAPPER!" she screamed. Nathan's eyes widened, and he quickly put her down. "Ow! That hurt!" she pouted, rubbing her butt.

He just stood there, observing the sloppy woman on the ground and thought about just leaving her there. He even stepped aside to prepare to walk away, but he couldn't just leave her out here in the middle of the night. Creepy guys would probably rape her and dump her in the river or something.

He sighed deeply and scratched his head. "Oh what am I getting myself into?" Nathan complained to himself, bending down to grab her one more time. "I'm not kidnapping you okay? So don't scream," Nathan ordered. "If you do, I'll drop you again. Do you want me to drop you again?"

Haley's glazed eyes slanted and she shook her head. "I won't scream," she replied.

"Okay, good," Nathan answered, lifting her up from the ground.

He began walking towards the passenger seat of his car and he gently placed her inside. Then he walked around to the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Where do you live? I'll bring you home," Nathan stated, before pulling out from the parking space.

"Home," she mumbled, her eyes drifting.

Nathan glanced at her and found her leaning over to him. He quickly stopped her and pushed her towards her window. "Don't go to sleep. I need to know where you live, so I can drop you off," he stated.

"Mmm," she mumbled, dozing off into a deep slumber.

"Haley!" he called out. "Haley!" he shook her, but she just readjusted herself against the window and continued sleeping.

He sighed deeply and leaned back in his seat. "Unbelievable," Nathan mumbled. "It just had to be you, didn't it?" he questioned, glancing at Sleeping Beauty beside him. There was nowhere else to bring her, so he had to settle with the last place he could think of. "It'll just have to do," he stated before driving back onto the high way.

**

* * *

**

The next morning, Haley woke up with the most intense head ache she's ever had in her life. She groaned at the pain that was pounding in her skull and opened her eyes only to find her in a strange room. She slowly sat up, pressing a finger on her temples and observed the place. She was lying on a silver couch that resembled the style of the ones at the café and she had a thin, blue blanket draped over her. Beside her was a glass coffee table with a few sports magazines on top with a ceramic vase in the middle. The walls were solid white with a black brick fire place across from her. There was only one big painting on the wall next to the hallways. It was just a painting of different geometric shapes overlapping each other. It had hardwood flooring with a nice flat black rug in the middle. She was completely lost and confused. She wanted to continue observing the place, but she was starting to get really dizzy from her headache, so she lay back down against the couch.

"Ugh," she groaned, holding her head to stop it from pounding. "Where am I?" she let out.

When she looked around, hoping to find some clue to where she was, she realized that there wasn't really much to conclude whose house she was in. All she knew was that it was really pretty and very clean. So she dragged herself off the couch, and searched around the place quietly. She walked past a mirror and scared herself the moment she saw her reflection.

"Oh my gosh," she gasped as she tried to wipe off the mascara under her eyes. Her hair was even sticking up in different places. Who ever brought her home obviously didn't think she was worth being put on a bed especially when she looked like that. She stopped looking at herself in the mirror and fixed herself a little bit to browse around the well-built house.

She walked down the halls with large windows to the back yard that displayed the beautiful scenery of Tree Hill City. Haley was amazed by the sight and continued walking down the hall way leading to an opened room. She slowly peeked inside the sunlit room and noticed someone sleeping on the king sized bed. She crept in slowly, careful not to make any noises and observed the body. From what it seems with her blurry vision and distance, it looked like the body wasn't moving at all.

She walked even closer and spotted an empty pill container on the side table. Her eyes widened at the sight and noticed that it was Nathan on the bed. She immediately panicked and thought he committed suicide or something, so she hurried around to find something. She twirled around the room and found a bathroom. She grabbed a paper cup from inside, filled it with cold water and hurried to the bed. Next thing you know, she was splashing it over Nathan's face in hopes to wake him up.

Nathan's eyes shot open from the freezing cold water and looked up at Haley in shock. "What the hell!"

"You're alive?" she questioned, confused and embarrassed for what she had done.

He wiped his face with his comforter and looked at her strangely. "Of course I'm alive."

"I thought you killed yourself," Haley replied and picked up the container from the side table.

"Why in the world would I kill myself?"

"This was empty."

Nathan glanced at the pill bottle in her hands and shook his head like she was stupid. "It's my antibiotics when I got sick a while back. I never got the chance to throw it away," he explained, sitting up from his bed. He pulled his wet covers off and rolled it up in a ball.

Haley suddenly felt really dumb for even jumping into conclusions. "I'm so sorry," she apologized.

Nathan rolled his eyes and leaned over his knees. "You're apparently not thinking straight right now."

"Yeah, I'm really not," she replied. She winced at the still pounding sensation in her head and observed his room. "How did I even get here?"

Nathan scratched his nose and asked, "You don't remember?" Haley shook her head. "I found you drinking on the sidewalk downtown by the art gallery. I wasn't going to just leave you there so I brought you here."

"Oh geez, I'm a wreck," Haley groaned. Nathan nodded in agreement. "Did I say anything stupid?"

"Um," Nathan thought. "You hit me and started saying that you hated men. I guess I was your target."

Haley gasped and covered her mouth in shock. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm always finding myself in difficult situations with, you know that?" Nathan stated in disbelief. "It's getting ridiculous." He stood up from his bed and went straight to his drawers to find a new shirt to replace his wet one.

"I should go home. My mom is probably worrying about me," she panicked, hurrying out the room.

"How are you going to go home? Your car is still at the art gallery," Nathan stated, removing his shirt. Haley turned around and her eyes widened at the well sculptured body in front of her. She had never seen perfectly defined muscles before. He had an even sexier body than Julian. "I'll bring you home." He pulled on a new shirt and walked up to her.

"Okay," she answered slowly as she remained standing at his door way.

Nathan walked past her and examined the expression on her face. She looked like she was in a complete daze. So he stopped and waved his hand in front of her. "What's wrong with you?"

She zoned out of her thoughts and looked at him. "Huh?"

"You were gone for a second," he stated. "Come on, _crazy girl_. Let's go bring you back to your mommy," he said dryly and continued walking down the hall.

Haley scoffed, embarrassed that he now found out she still lived with her mom. She completely wiped away the thoughts of his beautiful bod, even if she still wanted to think about it, and followed Nathan down the stairs. The bottom room looked like a hang out place with a stereo and a big screen tv. Then they turned the corner and entered the kitchen where Nathan was opening the fridge. The place was really unique and very modern. It was certainly a bachelor pad. It was practically made for him.

He pulled out a pitcher of orange juice and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. He poured some into it and slid it towards her on the counter.

"Drink up," he ordered.

Haley grabbed it and sipped from the glass. "Thanks."

"I hope that's the last time I see you drinking on the street or even drinking that much at all," he stated as he watched her down half of her drink.

"Oh I won't," she promised.

"What made you drink that much anyways?" he asked, not meaning to pry into her business. He was just curious of her strange ways. First she was damaging a car and now she was getting drunk on the side of the road. Something must've been really damaging her. That or she's just crazy.

She drank the rest of her juice and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Just some stuff that I don't want to talk about."

He sighed and grabbed the glass to put in the sink. "Is it over that fiancé of yours? The one that came over to the café that one day?"

"How'd you know that was my fiancé?" she questioned.

"It was pretty obvious when you were hiding under the truck. And the night you destroyed my car, you said something about your fiancé cheating on you."

"I thought you didn't care about my reasons?"

"Would you care about someone else's reasons if someone destroyed your car too?" he retorted, still apparently angry from the event. She pouted and shook her head. "And just because I didn't seem like I was listening to a word you said, I was. I heard every word."

Haley sighed deeply, and sat on the stool at the counter, moping at the heartache in her chest. "Yes, it was because of him," she admitted.

"He really made a fool of you, didn't he?" Nathan responded, dryly. "He probably cheated on you for being so reckless," he stated, observing her unkempt hair. "You don't even know how to take care of yourself. I would've found someone better also."

She sneered at him and stepped back onto the floor roughly. "I don't want to talk about this with you! You're mean!"

"I'm just saying," Nathan stated.

"Just bring me home," Haley snapped, walking out to find the front door.

Nathan chuckled to himself when he watched her open the door to the pantry. "The door's right here," he pointed out in the other direction.

"Oh," she responded and walked back. He rolled his eyes in amusement and followed her out of his bachelor pad.

On the ride to Haley's house, it was so quiet. It was kind of weird for Haley to be sitting in the car similar to the one she damaged a few weeks back. And it was even weirder that Nathan even let her set one foot inside. Nathan was actually a pretty sweet guy when he wanted to be. He took care of her last night when he didn't even have to.

Nathan turned the corner at the stop light and noticed Haley's dress. "What was the occasion last night?"

Haley turned away from the window and glanced at him. "What?"

"The dress? What made you get out of your baggy clothes and overalls?"

Haley pursed her lips at him in annoyance and fixed the bottom of her trapeze outfit. "I went to an art show." He nodded and continued driving down.

"Not even a dress could win him back, huh?" Nathan questioned.

She quickly turned to him and made a face. "That's not why I wore a dress, you asshole. I wasn't trying to impress him."

"You said you got drunk because of him so I thought –"

"No. My stupid ex-friend came into the art show and we got in a fight over him," she quickly explained, folding her arms roughly against her chest. "She was practically telling me that I didn't give him enough pleasure during our relationship so he found someone better than me. _Slut_!"

"Classy," he stated, stopping at a stop sign in Haley's neighborhood. "Left or right?"

"Right," she answered.

He turned the corner and said, "If you want some advice, I think you should stop belittling yourself because of his mistake. I don't think it will do you any good."

Haley smiled, thankful for his wise advice and sighed in relief that someone was actually telling her to fix her problems . "I'm trying, but it's hard."

"Try harder," he replied. "The café opening is next week and I don't want you acting this way during work."

Haley stopped smiling and turned to him in disbelief. Just when she thought he was being kind and giving her advice to comfort her, he was only using it for his selfish needs. "That's all you're worried about? Me being a reckless girl during work?"

Nathan nodded his head. "Yep. Remember when I said that I didn't like weak people?"

"Yeah," she responded, pointing at the town houses so he could stop.

He parked right in front of her house and looked at her seriously. "If you still want to work at the cafe, resolve your problems before coming to work. Got it?"

She scoffed. "So you just want me to forget that any of this happened? Pretend that I didn't get cheated on?"

"Yeah," he replied, nonchalantly.

"That's impossible!"

"Fine, then don't come to work on Monday," he stated. "Now go," he ordered.

Haley tightened her fist with the urgency to punch him in the face, but stopped herself before she did anything she regretted. So she climbed out of the car and slammed it shut. She marched toward the front door and heard Nathan's wheels burn against the street and drove off.

"Jerk!" she groaned.

The front door swung open, revealing a pajama clad Vivian with her hair pulled up in a side pony tail. She observed Haley's outfit, makeup and hair. Vivian was immediately disgusted.

"What the hell happened to you last night?" she questioned.

Haley sighed deeply and walked past Vivian in a hurry, avoiding the question over all.

"Seriously! What happened?" she called out, closing the door behind her.

**

* * *

**

**A WEEK LATER.**

The day finally arrived. The grand opening of Nathan's café was here. And everyone including the whole community was excited for this new shop. It wasn't because of the coffee. Ever since people noticed the handsome workers inside, every single woman grew weak in the knees even at the sight of the building. And the employees had no clue what was coming to them.

Nathan and his workers woke up extra early to prepare for the big event. He wanted them to finish before they opened the doors. Tim was busy setting up all the desserts and quilting all the tables with nice black silky fabrics while Clay and Jake were busy adding balloons and decorative items inside the café and outside near the entrance. Haley was writing the menu and prices on the chalkboard behind the counter where Percy was brewing up the first batch of coffees. And Nathan was outside, hammering their official sign above the entrance door that said "Chivalry Café."

Since the coffee shop was made up of mostly men, he thought it would be quite convenient to name it after them. He also had a feeling that a lot of women were going to visit the cafe, so that meant that his employees would be serving and looking after their female customers. _Chivalry -courteous behavior especially towards women. _It was the perfect title despite the fact that Haley was the only girl who was working there.

"Is everything prepared?" Nathan questioned.

"Yep!" Tim answered as everyone gathered together in the main room. Percy remained behind the counter, too lazy to move from his spot.

"Alright," Nathan clapped his hands together, a little nervous for the opening of his first business and he observed the expression on each of his employee's faces. "This is the grand opening. So we're going to make everything free today. But even if it's free, we should treat our customers with courtesy and kindness. That includes you too, Haley." Haley nodded and gave him a thumbs up in response.

"We'll do our best, boss!" Jake stated.

Clay chuckled. "What's so funny?" Nathan questioned.

"It's just weird calling you boss," he answered.

"Whatever, just call me Nathan, Clay."

"Will do, boss!" he laughed.

"Quit it."

"Okay."

"This is so exciting!" Tim exclaimed in glee. "I'll definitely be at my best today, Nate."

"Good, let's get things started!"

Once Nathan turned the sign from closed to open, people fled to the entrance and filled he place up in a snap. And by surprise, it was mostly women. Everyone gathered around, admired the paintings on the walls, the creativity of the construction, ate the desserts, and smelled the sweet scent of brewed coffee. And some even drooled over the black and white uniforms roaming around the place, helping everyone with their orders.

Haley smiled at the customers as she walked towards a table of girls on the outside porch with a tray of cups of coffee that they ordered. The minute they saw her approach them, they made a disgusted face at her. Haley felt a little uncomfortable at the expressions they were giving her.

"Here, I hope you enjoy," she smiled anyways. When she turned her back at them, she heard them whisper things about her.

"I thought it was called Chivalry Café not Chivalry and girl."

"I know, it's not fair that she's surrounded by all these hotties. What's so great about her?""

Haley's jaw tightened and rolled her eyes at the comment. She didn't come here to work with a bunch of boys because she wanted to. She just took the job cause she needed it. The attractiveness of her co-workers didn't even cross her mind. She was still trying to get over Julian.

She walked back inside the crowded café and set the tray on the counter.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, noticing the annoyance on her face.

"Stupid customers," Haley complained as she watched Mr. Percy brew another set of coffee drinks.

"Nathan said to be nice, remember?" Tim stated next to her.

Haley looked at him as he gave her the same look the girls gave him. "I was nice."

"It doesn't seem like it," Tim replied. "I need three mocha lattes."

Haley glared at Tim. He shouldn't be the one talking when he hasn't even been nice to her from the minute they met. She shook her head and walked off to take another order from across the room.

"What's her problem?" Tim complained.

"You should be nice to her," Percy stated. "I don't know what she did to you, but give her a break. She's apparently having a hard time working here. Most of our customers are girls and they obviously only came for you guys. She probably feels out of place." Tim glanced over his shoulder to check on Haley. "You'll be working together for a while. You might as well try to be friends."

From outside, Vivian and Lydia were coming in to visit Haley on her first day at her new job. Lydia was amazed by the amount of people already here. It was just a regular café – who knew it would be this popular. Vivian on the other hand didn't really see what the fuss was about. She saw a lot of people she knew from school and they were acting all giggly for some odd reason. She figured it was because of the men working here, but she didn't see it. The last time she checked out the guys here was the day she spotted Nathan and Clay painting the walls. And she didn't feel anything yet. She was too scared at the time.

"It smells good in here!" Lydia stated, stepping up the stairs to the inner portion of the café.

"It's just coffee," Vivian replied, searching around for her older sister.

"Mom? Vivian, what are you doing here?" Haley called out, giving one of the customers a cup of Joe.

"We wanted to come to the opening to see you of course."

"It's because I told you that everything was free, wasn't it?" Haley questioned as she approached them. Her mother nodded her head shyly. Then Haley glanced at Vivian who was looking around the place. "Why are you here? Don't you have school?"

Vivian didn't bother to look Haley in the face; instead she browsed around and observed all the décor and furniture in the shop. "They gave us the day off," she answered.

"Oh well, try not to criticize everything, will ya?" Haley ordered.

Vivian stuck her tongue at her sister, but then stopped when she noticed the hot blondie past her shoulder. And a smile automatically formed on her face. "Who's that?"

Haley turned around and noticed that she was staring at the Big Flirt of the group. "That's Clay," she answered.

"He's HOT!" Vivian exclaimed.

"He's too old for you and way too experienced," Haley advised. "So stay away."

"Yeah yeah, I'll talk to you later," Vivian stated, walking away to be closer to Clay.

Haley and Lydia shook their heads in disbelief of Vivian's stubbornness and turned to the counter where Percy was staring at Lydia in surprise. He had a piece of a pastry hanging in his mouth which wasn't really attractive to see at all.

"Um," Haley began, furrowing her eyes at Percy's expression. "This is my mother, Lydia James."

Lydia smiled and held out her hand to greet him. "Hi, nice to meet you."

He pulled the pastry out of his mouth and shook her hand nervously. "I-I'm-I'm Percy," he stuttered.

Haley could see that Percy was falling for her mother already and was kind of weirded out from it so she slowly walked away. She didn't want to be involved with any the awkwardness there so she continued working. She turned to the side and found Vivian sitting at a table with her friends while Clay chatted with them. Haley rolled her eyes in disgust. Then she saw Jake kindly serving the customers like a real gentleman. But when she glanced outside the window, she noticed that Julian was walking up the steps of the outside porch and she quickly turned away.

"Hey where are you going?" Nathan questioned as he watched her quickly go into the kitchen.

He scoffed and continued walking until he bumped into Julian at the door way. "I'm sorry," he apologized. When he realized that it was the guy from the other day, he glanced back at the kitchen doors where Haley was hiding. He sighed deeply in disbelief. He already had a feeling that today was going to be a disaster.

Julian stopped and examined Nathan for a few seconds. He immediately furrowed his eyebrows and turned to him.

"You!" he called out.

Before Nathan could step out to the outside porch, he turned to Julian with a curious expression. "Uh yeah?"

"What were you doing with Haley?" he questioned angrily.

"What?"

"I saw you pick her up off the street the other night. What the hell were you doing with her?" Julian snapped.

Nathan chuckled in disbelief. He couldn't believe that he was even getting involved into this situation at all.

Haley slowly opened the swinging doors of the mini kitchen and noticed the anger on both of the guy's faces. Julian looked really pissed off at Nathan for some reason. Nathan was taking it in like it was some of kind of lame joke and just wanted to punch Julian in the face.

"You got it all wrong man," Nathan stated, calmly.

Julian scoffed. "What did you do with her!" he snapped, shoving Nathan on the shoulder.

Nathan didn't take that little shove lightly. His blood began to boil and his jaw tightened. Then he glanced at the door where he spotted Haley creeping from behind it.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hi my loves! I hope you all can forgive me for the lack of updates for the past week or so. I just haven't had any time to update with a chapter. Again, school has been my excuse and other things. I also kept writing and rewriting this chapter over the past couple of days until it satisfied. And since I passed my daily update pattern, I thought I'd also pre-write another chapter as well so that I could update on a regular basis. I hate having to wait a long time for an update for a story. And I really don't want you all to wait so long! Agh. So I'm trying my best to perfect this story and update as much as I can so you can all enjoy it! I'm trying to keep my focus on this story because if I just wrote a chapter, waited a week without a thinking about it and tried to write again, my inspiration would be gone cause I'm not thinking about it. lol. ahh. I'm weird. Forgive me.

And I left you on a cliffy! agh. I'm such a bad person for doing that to you. You can insult me all you want because I made you all wait too long. I keep reading all your reviews to keep me motivated to keep writing. They help me a whole lot. I'm not saying that that's the only reason why I write, but I like how you all are very detailed in your reviews. It makes me happy to see what you think about how I set up everything. And **baffled** - I'm glad that the story is different compared to PLL. And yes the cafe is very important part of the story. It's where all of my many characters meet up and where they all develop as people. I'm dealing with a lot of characters in this story this time, so it's taking me a longer time to develop each one of them. PLL was easier because I only had to deal with four main characters. But this one I have like **seven or eight**. Gaw. But I feel like I should pin point all the main characters for you so you'll know who I'm going mainly focus on. Obviously **Nathan and Haley**; **the boys - Jake, Tim, and Clay**; **the cheaters - Julian and Alex**; and sometimes** Vivian**. The rest are minor characters - Mr. Kim, Percy, Lydia, Peyton, Nathan's parents and so on.

I really hope you are enjoying this story. You all very inspirational to me. I write because I like it, but seeing other people enjoy my writing keeps me motivated to continue on!

Love,

Annie

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"_What did you do with her?" _

Haley furrowed her eyes at that question. _What the hell was Julian talking about? _He wasn't there. At least she didn't think he was. Everything between walking to the liquor store and waking up the next morning at Nathan's house was a complete blur. He didn't care about her during the time he was cheating on her, so why was he suddenly worrying about her? And if he was there, why didn't he stop Nathan from picking her up from the street?

Nathan's jaw tightened and jerked his head at Haley, signaling her to get out from the kitchen to stop the guy from starting anything. But Haley refused to get out. She took a step back instead. He groaned and licked his lips in frustration. He couldn't believe this. He had no time to deal with any of this. This was the grand opening of Chivalry café. He wanted it to go smoothly without any distractions and problems. His parents were even coming to see how well he did, but nope, something just had to come up. Ever since meeting Haley that night in the parking lot, he's been experiencing so many problems. He never had to deal with so much chaos in his life before. It was starting to get ridiculous.

"Get out," Nathan mouthed towards her.

"Hey!" Julian cut in, poking Nathan again. "Answer my question."

He slowly turned his head towards the man beside him. "Sir, you need to step back before I hit you," he threatened.

"What did you do with my Haley?"

"I didn't do anything to your precious Haley."

"I saw you pick her off the street and shove her in your car. Do you expect me to believe that you didn't do anything to her?"

"Yeah, I was helping her out that night because she was drunk. I was just being a gentleman."

"I know guys like you. Playboys."

Nathan chuckled in disbelief. "Playboy? I'm not a play boy."

"You sure look like one. What makes you think you can take advantage of a sweet, innocent girl like her?"

"Okay, you really don't want to mess with a guy like me. So why don't you just walk away before anything happens, okay?"

"Not until you tell me what you did," Julian said.

Nathan's fists clenched. "You really want to get beaten up by me, don't you?"

Haley's eyes widened at the sight of Nathan's hands and Julian's determined expression and decided to take action before anything happened between them. So she finally stepped out of the kitchen and hurried over to the two.

"Hey," she greeted them nervously.

Julian looked at her, surprised to see her there. Nathan was relieved that she found the courage to get out or else he would've done something he'd regret.

"Haley?" Julian questioned.

"I told you to get rid of your problems before you went to work, but instead you decided to bring it with you," Nathan stated, trying his best to calm down.

Haley ignored Julian for a minute to apologize to her boss. "I didn't know he was going to show up here."

Nathan glanced at the man beside him furiously and then turned back to Haley. "Fix it then go back to work."

"I will, I will," she answered eagerly.

"You better," Nathan replied, brushing past Julian to let himself out towards the patio.

Julian watched as the raven-haired man walked out to the patio and he turned back to Haley. "You know him?" he questioned. He observed her outfit up and down. "And why are you wearing that?"

"I work here, Julian. Can't you tell?" Haley replied, pointing out to the other guys wearing the same black and white uniform as her. "And he's my boss."

"What happened to the _Paint Shop_?"

"I work there during Vivian's school hours, but that doesn't matter right now," she answered. She noticed more and more customers arriving to the café so she pushed him out the door to talk to him in private. They moved towards a little corner by the window and she asked, "Why are you even here?"

"I wanted to check out the new coffee shop, but then I saw him," he stated, glaring at Nathan who was taking orders from a table full of girls. "Did he hurt you?"

Haley's eyes furrowed and laughed. "What? No! He took care of me that night. He didn't do anything."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure. He was sleeping like a dead person when I woke up," she mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing," she shook her head. "What I'm really curious about is how did you know I was drunk that night?"

"I was going to go to the art show but something came up so I stayed at the office. I heard someone screaming so I looked out the window and it was you. I thought he was hurting you. I even hurried over to save you but he was already driving off by the time I reached the first floor. I was worried about you, Haley."

"So that's why we've been getting a billion calls all week," she mumbled, remembering her cell and house phone ringing non stop. He should've known that they weren't going to pick up. They had caller ID. But somehow Haley felt her heart race at the fact that Julian was actually concerned about her. And she hated that. She was doing so well trying to forget him. She was even following the whole 'out of sight, out of mind' method, but him showing up at the café ruined it.

"I'm glad that you weren't hurt," Julian stated.

Haley felt her lips curl into a smile as she listened to his soothing voice. Then all of a sudden she realized what she was doing and tried to stop herself from smiling, but it wasn't working. _What the hell? Why am I smiling? This is the douche bag who cheated on me for my best friend. I shouldn't be smiling. I need stop smiling, dammit!_ _Stop smiling, Haley!_

She lightly slapped her cheeks to loosen her lips and tried to shake away the feelings she had for Julian away. She didn't want to give in so easily – not after what he did to her.

He looked at her curiously.

"Don't do that," she stated.

"Do what?"

"Act like you care."

"But I do care, Haley."

"No you don't because if you did, you wouldn't have cheated on me," she stated.

Julian sighed deeply and avoided any eye contact with the people who were listening to their conversation. "I'm sorry for that, okay. I really am."

"Sorry's not good enough," she replied. She remembered her little argument with Alex at the gallery and remembered what she said. _He has to love you to be your lover. And I didn't steal him, Haley. He came to me._ She cringed at the thought of it. But it always made her wonder what she did wrong to cause Julian to cheat on her with someone as disgusting as Alex. "Why of all people did it have to be her?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Alex. Why did you fall in love with her?"

Julian took a moment to observe Haley's curious eyes and noticed how awfully raw and worn out they looked – like she had been crying nonstop since they broke up. And it killed him to see her that way. He caused that expression on her face. He caused her pain, her heart ache, and her struggles.

"Are you not going to tell me?" she questioned.

He hesitated because he was afraid of hurting her even more, but then he finally found the courage to answer her. "It's because she was able to make me happy," he stated.

She was confused. "What do you mean by that?"

He sighed, unable to explain it to her. He knew how sensitive and fragile Haley was. She was always sweet and kind. But she was also stubborn whenever she wanted to be. He didn't want to be the guy who broke the sweet girl.

"I-" he stopped himself when he noticed her expression change.

Haley blinked her eyes to seal away her tears and looked down at her hands. "So I wasn't making you happy?"

"You did. You made me really happy, I just-"he stopped when he noticed her lip quivering. The sight was heartbreaking. He wanted to hit himself right now. "I can't do this to you, Haley. I can't stand hurting you."

"Why didn't you think of that before?" she questioned, tightening her fist to give herself strength.

"Because I wasn't thinking."

"Then give me one reason why I wasn't good enough for you. Why were you planning on breaking up with me? Why did you make a fool of me?"

"Haley," he began as he stepped forward to hold her hands, but she whipped them away so fast, she thought she'd get infected by his Alex germs if he even laid one finger on her.

"Give me a reason!" she snapped.

Julian swallowed the lump in his throat and grew aware of the eyes around them. "Fine, I'll tell you why," he said softly, reaching over to grab her hands, but she moved them behind her back. He nodded; feeling rejected from her response and continued speaking. "Because I thought you were . . . you weren't. . . "He couldn't say it. He just couldn't tell her the truth. It was too hard, but he had to tell her to get the guilty leech of his chest. "You were like a little girl to me." He winced after saying those words.

"What?" she replied, confused.

He could see the hurt in her eyes. "You were more like a girl to me than a grown woman, Haley."

"So that was the reason?" she questioned softly, stunned and hurt. "So it was my fault."

"No," Julian stated. "I'm not blaming this on you. It just . . . I'm just saying that we're two different people."

Haley had never felt so hurt in her life. First he broke her heart by cheating on her with another woman, but now he was stabbing her pride by telling her that she was just a child in his eyes. So many questions kept rolling through her mind. Why did he propose to her if that's how he saw her? Why did he spend six months pretending to be engaged to her when he didn't think she was woman enough to be the one for him? Why did he make such a pathetic fool of her? But she didn't ask him any of that. She wanted to understand but she didn't want to hear anymore.

"Okay," she nodded, holding back her emotions. "I'm going to go back to work now."

"Haley," he called out as he watched her walk back into the cafe.

"Don't talk to me," she stated before disappearing inside.

Nathan looked over at the rejected man by the window and shook his head in shame for him. He had been listening to every word they were saying as he was serving and taking orders from the customers. And he couldn't help but feel sorry for Haley. She was dealing with a man who had no pride in himself or common was no good reason for anyone to cheat on their loved ones. There shouldn't be any forgiveness for what he did to her. Not one.

**

* * *

**

Jake watched as Haley stacked cups onto her tray. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and then picked up it up. She was struggling a bit, but she was able to steady the heaviness enough to walk to the kitchen. Just watching her balance the tray was scary for Jake. He thought she was going to drop it. Good thing she didn't or else Nathan would cause a fit. But he noticed something strange going on with her. He saw that guy she was talking to earlier. He didn't look familiar, but he could tell that he was someone really close to her. After that guy left, her energy to work just died away. She even tried to fake it by putting a smile on, but Jake saw past that. And that concerned him.

She really wasn't feeling all too well. Not only was her heart aching, her pride was wounded too. She still couldn't believe what Julian said about her. _I was just a little girl in his eyes? I'm not even a woman? _

She placed the tray of mugs on the side of the sink and turned on the faucet roughly. She had to toughen up; she couldn't show any weakness today. It was the grand opening and she didn't want to ruin it for Nathan. This was obviously an important day for him. He worked really hard, and she wasn't going to ruin it by crying her heart out because of a cheating douche bag.

Haley took a deep breath to push back the tears and grabbed a cup to wash. Right when she started scrubbing it with a soapy sponge, the swinging doors moved and she turned around to see who it was.

"Hey Jake," she greeted. Jake smiled softly back at her and placed a mug onto her tray. "It's busy out there, huh?"

"I've never seen so many women at once," he replied. "I don't know what to do with myself."

She chuckled and glanced over her shoulder to look out into the main room through the kitchen opening. Clay was successfully flirting his way around the whole café while Tim was failing at it. "At least Clay is enjoying himself," she stated.

Jake nodded and observed her from the side. He could see the rims of her eyes turning red. Her chin was even trembling, but she tried to stop it by biting down on her lip. He instantly grew concerned and tilted his head to see her eyes.

"Haley," he began. "You okay?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She glanced at him and tightened her eyes. She nodded and bit down harder on her bottom lip.

"Mmm hmm," she answered with a little squeal, concentrating on the dishes.

Jake's eyebrows lifted at the weird sound of her response. "Are you sure?"

"Yep," she let out, trying so hard to hold back the tears.

He didn't want to pry into her business. She was obviously pretty fragile at the moment so he just patted her shoulder comfortingly and said, "Okay, if you need anything, just tell me."

Haley lifted her hand out from the water-filled sink and gave him a thumbs up. He looked at her curiously and nodded before he walked out of the kitchen. He was pretty sure that nothing was okay. She looked like she had gallons of tears ready to spew out of her eye sockets, but he knew she couldn't cry now. They were at work and Nathan wouldn't approve of that. It was just a sad sight to see the girl he used to like in high school act this way.

When Jake disappeared out of the kitchen, Haley returned her focus back to the sink. She was trying her hardest to pull her herself together. She needed to be strong. Although she still loved Julian with all of her heart, she had to remind herself that he wasn't worth her tears. And she kept repeating that over and over again. But out of nowhere, she felt a painful kick in her chest as if someone had just stabbed her in the heart. Then eventually a few tears rolled down her cheeks. Her hands gripped the edge of the sink to find some strength, but the tears kept coming. And she continued sob out all the pain that was building up inside of her.

Tim walked through the doors rapping to some Snoop dog song when he noticed Haley trembling by the sink. She looked like she was sick or having some kind of seizure. It freaked him out a little bit.

"Haley?" he questioned. When she slowly faced him, he was stunned by the sight of the swollen-eyed girl and grew concerned. She looked like she was in pain. "What's going on? Are you hurt somewhere?"

She just looked at him and placed her hand over chest as the sobs continued. She couldn't control it even if she tried and she slowly knelt down against the floor.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Tim called out, stepping closer to her. He didn't know what to do. There was a crying girl in front of him who was apparently in pain somehow and he had no clue what to do about it. "Are you alright?" he asked in panic. She didn't answer and continued clutching her chest. "I'll-I'll – stay here," he ordered. "I'll get someone. Just stay here," he said and hurried out to get some help.

He found Nathan setting a hot cup of coffee in front of an old lady and quickly ran up to him.

"Nathan, Haley's acting strange," Tim stated.

Nathan chuckled. "When is she not?" he replied and smiled at the lady.

"No, she's in the kitchen. I don't know what's going on with her. She seems hurt," Tim corrected.

Nathan furrowed his eyes at the sound of that and quickly walked to the kitchen to see what was wrong with the trouble maker. Tim followed him as they both walked through the swinging doors. And there she was, sobbing, trembling and whimpering on the floor like a little girl.

She lifted her head out from her palms and revealed her raw, watery eyes to her boss standing at the kitchen entrance. She knew she was going to get in trouble for this because Nathan told her to resolve her problems before work and she did. But she couldn't control Julian from coming into the café earlier or what he said to her. She had no idea he was going to show up. He didn't even know she was going to be there. It wasn't like she could stop the pain in her heart whenever she wanted to. Everything just came crashing down in a second without any warning.

"I'm sorry," Haley mumbled through her sobs.

Nathan observed the sad figure on the floor and sighed deeply.

"Is this over that ass of a guy?" he questioned. She whimpered and bit her lip. He took that as a yes. He didn't want this. He wanted today to be a good day. But this was just another distraction to deal with. "Haley, stop this right now," he demanded.

Tim looked at Nathan curiously. "Nate, she's hurting."

"I don't care," Nathan snapped. "I told her to come to work without any problems. I told her that I didn't like weak people, but she came in like this anyways." He looked at Haley who was trying her best to stop crying.

"I didn't know he was going to show up!"

He observed her face and noticed the mascara running down her cheeks. Her chin was quivering and her eyes were swollen like a professional boxer. It was such a painful sight to see her this way. He couldn't believe that a man could cause such a mess in a girl. Did this man have any sense in his head when he realized what he was doing to her? This was the man who made her destroy his car. He was the man who made her drink her sorrows away on a down town sidewalk. He was the man who made a fragile girl cry on the kitchen floor of a newly established coffee shop because she wasn't woman enough for him. He was to blame. But even if he was the reason, this girl obviously couldn't handle the situation correctly like she should be. Nathan was really disappointed to see how much pain she was causing herself. She was at fault too; at least that's what Nathan believed.

Nathan shook his head in frustration. "You look pathetic right now," he stated. She furrowed her eyes and looked at him in shock. "I thought you were stronger than this. You're letting your cheating fiance blame you for your tragic relationship. It's supposed to be his fault, but I'm starting to understand his reason for doing what he did to you." Haley's chin began to quiver at the harshness of his words. "_You're acting like a little girl._"

Haley swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down at her trembling hands. He just made her feel ten times worse than she did before. She felt like she was never going to get any rest if everyone kept stabbing daggers into her back. The cuts were just getting deeper and deeper.

She roughly wiped her tears away and picked herself up from the floor. She looked at Nathan with her angry watery eyes and then to Tim who was standing behind him looking confused. "Why do you have to be so mean?" she whined.

"I'm just telling you the truth," he responded. "Clean yourself up before anybody sees you! I don't have time to handle this right now. I have an opening to concentrate on and having you cry over some boy is no help at all."

_What a jerk! I'm crying my heart out here and he's yelling at me? Have a little compassion for goodness sakes_!

She huffed out a quick breath and continued to stare at him. "At least Julian was careful with his words! You just blurt out whatever you want to say. You're an asshole just like him!" And she pushed past them and walked through the swinging doors towards the second floor.

"Who's this Julian kid she's talking about?"

"Someone I don't want to be compared to."

Nathan sighed deeply and leaned against the sink. He was only trying to toughen her up and let her know that she needed to be stronger than this. He told her that before, but she was still letting someone else break her. Yelling at her wasn't going to make anything better for her. He was a bit too harsh. But he had to do it for his own sake. The cafe was something very important to Nathan and he couldn't let anyone ruin it. Not even a reckless girl with boy problems. He wanted to show his father how serious he was about this business.

**

* * *

**

After several female customers, serving and brewing free coffee and chatting with everyone, Chivalry café was ready to close for the day.

"Done!" Tim cried out.

"Congratulations, you cleaned a table!" Clay clapped from his stool at the counter.

"Oh shut up, Play dough!" Tim snapped, walking up to the counter with the dirty rag.

"It's Clay."

"Whatever, your name's stupid."

"Watch what you say, Dim."

"Piss off!"

"No thanks."

"Are we still in middle school?" Jake questioned, leaning over the counter as he watched the two guys argue.

Percy chuckled to himself as she replaced all the brewing supplies back to their rightful places. "I should've just built a day care if I knew you guys would act like children."

Nathan looked away from the guys and thought about Haley for a moment. She hadn't spoken to him all day since he yelled at her. It took her a while to come back down from the second floor. She needed some time to recover from her little break down. But even if she stopped crying, she wasn't completely healed. And she definitely didn't forget about what had been said in the kitchen. He couldn't stop thinking about what he told her. It was mean, yes, and he regretted saying a word. He definitely had no business prying into her personal life. He had no right to disrespect Haley for something she couldn't control. And it was kind of ironic how the boss of Chivalry café was mistreating the only woman working there.

Haley didn't want to appear weak in Nathan's eyes anymore. So she regained some temporary strength so she could work hard all day, leaving everyone with a smile and a nice cup of coffee. But not one single word was given to Nathan after his cruel outburst. She always knew that he was a mean guy, but she didn't think he was that mean. After he took care of her that drunken night, her view about him changed a little bit. He treated her nicely and made sure she was okay. She thought he had a little bit of sincerity in his heart, but obviously he didn't.

Nathan looked over by the stairs and found her sitting on the last step with her chin on top of her knees. She looked exhausted and still very sad. He had to give her an apology somehow. He couldn't deal with the guilt of hurting her feelings for the rest of the night. He wouldn't be able to sleep.

"I'm going to head out. I'm so tired!" Tim stated, stretching his arms out beside him.

"Me too," Clay replied. "We'll see you tomorrow, Nate."

"Alright," Nathan replied as all the guys headed out towards the door.

Jake waved goodbye as well and followed the guys outside. Nathan watched as they all approached Haley to say goodnight.

Clay even stopped to shake her hair out of place. "Pretty girls shouldn't be sad," he advised. "Chin up, little lady." And they all disappeared into their cars or taxis and went home.

"Look at her," Percy whispered as he cleaned the counter. "You caused that."

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at Haley. "No I didn't. Her stupid boyfriend did."

"At least apologize for what you said. It's not right to yell at a woman and tell her that she looks pathetic when she's already crying over a man," Percy advised.

Nathan drew out a breath and observed her as she finally stood up from the steps. He needed to get it over with before she left, so he walked away from the counter and headed towards her with his hands tucked into his pocket pants.

"Hey," he called out. She looked up at him with a blank stare. Then she untied the apron from around her waist and placed it on the hook on the wall. "You worked hard today," he added. She ignored him and began walking towards the door. He licked his lips in frustration like he always did when he got annoyed and pulled her back by her elbow.

"Haley, I'm trying to apologize here," he stated, forcing her to face him.

Haley glared at him and then looked away annoyed. "I've received enough apologizes lately," she mumbled.

"Well can you accept mine?"

"No," she answered. "I'm just a pathetic _little girl_. I don't accept apologies from assholes."

That stung a little bit. "I deserved that."

"Good," she snapped. "Now let me go."

She tried to walk away but he pulled her back. "Look, can you please hear me out?"

"What if I don't? You're going to yell at me for disobeying you?"

"No, I'm not going to yell at you."

"You sure did a while ago," she mumbled.

"Haley!" he snapped.

"There you go with the yelling."

He scoffed and scratched at his temple. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry. I don't care if you accept it or not. I just want you to know that I am, okay? It was wrong of me to tell you what you can and cannot do. And for calling you a pathetic little girl. If you want to cry, cry! If you want to slap me, then slap me!" Haley swung her hand across his face, surprising him with a stinging pain on his cheek. "Ow! What the hell? I didn't mean now!"

"Well it felt good," she replied with a pleased grin.

His nostrils flared and drew out a quick breath. "Now that you got that over with, you think you can forgive me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why would I? You're still an asshole to me."

"Then what do you want me to do to prove that I'm sorry?"

Haley took a second to think. She really didn't want to appear to be a little girl in any man's eyes anymore. If that was the reason for all of her problems with the opposite sex, then she might as well fix it. She wanted to be stronger than the weak girl everyone thought she was.

She turned to Nathan and said, "Help me become a woman."

Nathan chuckled. "You want me to what?"

"If acting like a little girl makes me weak, then make me strong."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know," she retorted. "You're the pro. You're the one who knows how a woman is supposed to act. Teach me."

Nathan scratched the back of his neck and narrowed his eyes on the weird girl standing beside him. "This is ridiculous. You are ridiculous."

Haley glared at me. "Then I'm not going to forgive you. I will continue to hate you. You and Julian both!"

"Are you really putting me in the same category with your loser fiancé?"

"Ex-fiance," she corrected.

"Whatever he is, I'm not like him. I'm not a douche bag."

She chuckled in disbelief. "Think again." And she walked away.

**

* * *

**

Vivian dragged her feet into her first class of the day and sat in her seat at the back of the room. She couldn't stop dreaming about the guy she met at the café -the tall, blonde with a naughty smile. She forgot his name. It sounded like something people used to make sculptures with. But other than that, she was glad that her sister was working at the new café because then she'd get a chance to see him any time she wanted to.

She sighed deeply as she sat at her desk and started day dreaming about him as people started entering the room slowly.

"Did you go to that Chivalry Café opening yesterday?" one girl asked as she sat down right in front of Vivian.

"Of course I did!" another girl replied. "The guys in there are so hot! Except for that old man and the girl."

"Yeah, why is she even working there anyways? It's called _Chivalry_ Café."

Vivian stopped staring at the chalkboard and began listening to the conversation the two girls were having.

"Since all the guys are smokin' hot, they should've at least hired an attractive girl. She wasn't even pretty."

"I know, right? It must be miserable to live with an ugly face," the girl laughed.

Vivian scoffed. How dare they say anything about her older sister? Of course she criticized her every day, but Haley was family and no one disrespected family especially hers. So she leaned over and poked the girl in the back of the head roughly.

"Ow!" The red head turned around and sneered at Vivian. "What was that for?"

"That's my sister you're talking about!"

"The girl from the café?"

"Yeah, the ugly one that you were just talking about."

The girls took a second to glance at each other and turned back to Vivian, who was one of the prettiest girls in school. "She's your sister?"

"Yes, you got a problem with that?" Vivian snapped. "And she's NOT ugly. She's way prettier than you will ever be."

The red head scoffed as her blonde friend placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Excuse me?"

"I said it. Go tell your rich mommy to give you money for a nose job because you need it."

The girls scoffed at that comment. "At least I have money," the girl stated.

That comment didn't even sting one bit. "You're just jealous that you don't get to work in a café full of hotties like her."

"They probably don't even like her!"

"I liked her," Anthony stated from the side of them. "She was really nice to me yesterday."

The blond girl rolled her eyes at him. "But you're a geek."

Vivian scoffed and reached over to grab a handful of the girl's hair, but their teacher slammed her ruler against the desk before Vivian could even touch one strand.

"Ladies!" she called out. "It's too early in the morning for this. And Vivian try not to start any trouble today."

"Yes, ma'm," they all stated in unison.

**

* * *

**

"I'm heading to work right now," Nathan stated over the phone as he made his way towards his new Porsche – this time in a darker shade than the one before.

"You're really impressing me, son. I didn't think you'd actually work," his father said.

Nathan rubbed a little smudge on the roof of his car before he opened it. "Well, you wanted me to work, so I'm working. Aren't you happy?"

"I will once I see some progress. I want to see how you really handle the business."

Nathan climbed inside and shut the door. "I think I'm handling it pretty well."

"Don't be too sure about that."

"Did you see how many people came to the opening yesterday? It was packed," Nathan exclaimed, remembering the amount of people who rushed inside to get a cup of coffee. He craned his neck to look at himself in the rear view mirror and he fixed a piece of hair that was sticking out.

"That's how openings are, son," he father stated. "Everything was free; no one had to pay for their drinks or service. Just wait until the real money comes in. You're going to have to do a lot of promoting to get those customers back."

"I think you forgot that I hired a pretty attractive bunch for my employees."

"It's not only about looks, Nate. It's all about good service and organization. Success isn't just handed to you based on good looks in this business. It's about the product."

"Yeah, yeah," Nathan replied.

"Well I wish you luck on your first _real_ day on the job."

"Thanks, I'll try my best."

"Don't let me down," Dan replied. They exchanged their goodbyes and hung up.

Nathan sighed deeply and placed his hands on the steering wheel. He took a moment to think about what he got himself into. He wouldn't have taken this job if his parents didn't threaten him with his precious car. He didn't like being stressed out about anything. He liked relaxing at the beach, having a few drinks with the guys and cruising around living the good life. But now, he was in the real world. That perfect postcard picture of the Bahamas and bikinis was long gone. Now he was stuck in a business with men wearing black and white uniforms while serving cups of coffee. Not only that, he had to deal with a reckless girl with enough baggage to last her a lifetime. It was so exhausting.

Speaking of Haley, he thought about what she asked him to do the night before. _Help me become a woman._ He chuckled at how ridiculous that sounded. He wasn't a teacher. He was not made to help a girl become a woman. That was a mother's job. But obviously her mother wasn't doing a good job at that. It just seemed like a silly thing to do. Even if he agreed, how was he going to help her? Give her a complete make over? Tell her to balance a book on her head?

He shook away from his thoughts and started the ignition. Then he remembered the night she was drinking her sorrows away and how she was crying on the kitchen floor. She was a complete wreck. He really didn't want that at the café. He didn't think he could handle watching her mope around the place. It would only frustrate the hell out of him.

And he continued to think about it on the way to the café. He parked his car at the back of the building where he saw Percy's grandpa vehicle and entered the coffee shop. The shop opened a few hours ago. He would've expected to see some people inside drinking something out of a mug, but he didn't see one unfamiliar face. It was just Jake, Clay, Tim, and Percy. Haley was nowhere in sight.

"Where are the customers?" he asked.

Tim was sitting by the window tossing Cheetos into his mouth. "That's what I've been asking."

Nathan furrowed his eyes and walked up to the counter where Percy was sleeping on a chair against the wall.

"Percy!" he exclaimed. The old, chubby man didn't respond. "Percy!" he repeated, slamming his hand against the counter.

He jumped up from his seat causing his spectacles to get out of place. "What?"

"What's going on?" Nathan asked. "There's no one here."

"They probably didn't enjoy the place as much as they thought they would," he answered, groggily.

"They swarmed the place when it was free," Clay stated, playing cards with Jake at one of the tables.

Nathan sighed and searched around for Haley. He even looked through the kitchen window opening, but she wasn't there. "Where's the girl?" he asked.

"She doesn't work during these hours, remember?" Jake replied, putting a card down.

"Huh?" Nathan responded.

"She works at that art shop at the mall."

He took a second to think until he remembered. "Oh, I forgot," he said as he walked up to the window to check if anybody was even attempting to go inside. "What are we going to do about this?"

"They all probably hated the coffee," Tim stated, chewing on a chip. "Old man, what did you do?"

"What did I do? I didn't do anything. My coffee was perfect!"

Nathan groaned. His father was right. Success was not just handed to people.

"There were a lot of customers here yesterday. They looked like they really enjoyed it," Nathan stated.

"There were a lot of _young _people here yesterday," Percy corrected as he took his glasses off and started cleaning it with his shirt. "You promoted the coffee shop way before it opened with your good looks. That's why they came in yesterday in flocks. But they have school. And you forgot about the older community. They drink coffee more than those youngsters."

"I served a couple of old people yesterday, where are they now?" Nathan questioned.

"They probably thought that this place was only for teens. Look at it," Percy stated, pointing at the all the modern furniture. "You made it look like a teen club with your expensive interior."

"What do you want me to do about that? Redecorate?"

"We live in the city. We have a lot of competition around here. We have to work for our success," Percy stated.

"We can promote the place," Jake suggested. "We can make fliers and staple them on electric posts."

"Mr. Loner here is right," Clay stated. Jake furrowed his eyes at him and put all of his cards down. "We should all go out and tell the community about it."

"That sounds more fun than staying here all day waiting for folks to come in," Tim complained.

Nathan sighed deeply. That didn't sound like such a bad idea. They weren't going to get anywhere if they sat and waited for people to come. It wasn't like _Chivalry_ was the only coffee shop in Tree Hill City. Starbucks was a big business and there were also a few more coffee shops on the other side of town. "Fine, let's make those fliers then."

"ALRIGHT!" Tim cheered on, climbing off the bench.

"Tim, you're staying here just in case anybody comes in," Nathan halted him.

"What? I don't want to stay here with the old geezer!"

"Haley's coming at three, so you won't be alone."

"I don't want to be around her either! She's bad luck!"

"Tim, just do as I say, okay?"

Tim pouted as he sat back down on the bench. Jake and Clay chuckled as they put the cards away and followed Nathan out of the shop to go to the printing store. Tim watched them disappear through the back door and turned to Mr. Percy who was digging through his nose for gold.

"Egh!" Tim shivered. "I'm going to make myself something to eat in the kitchen."

**

* * *

**

"Is this the original?" a woman asked.

Haley stopped readjusting the landscape paintings and glanced at the one the lady was pointing at. It was a Warhol pop art piece.

She shook her head and answered, "No, sorry. We don't sell his originals here. We only sell replicas."

"Oh, well do you have any originals of any kind?"

Haley smiled and nodded. "We have a limited edition from other artists. They are just as good as Warhol though," she stated as she led Haley towards the back of the room where most of the originals were placed. "Here are a few. Some are sent from Italy by some of their small town artists. So you can check those out. If you need anything, I'll be happy to help." The lady smiled at Haley's kind personality and started skimming through the canvases.

Haley walked away so that the lady could take her time to find something she wanted and met up with Mr. Kim at the counter. He was eating a banana while he read the local newspaper.

"Look, your ex is in the paper," Mr. Kim mumbled.

She furrowed her eyes and leaned forward to check it out. It was an ad promoting Julian's law firm. It said something about how he'd be the perfect divorce attorney to help resolve any complicated relationship. He was young, charming and easy to get along with.

"How ironic," Haley stated. "I almost got married to a divorce attorney."

"If you marry, he be the lawyer!" Mr. Kim chuckled. "Lesson learned. Never marry a lawyer. They lie all the time."

Haley cracked a smile at him and sighed deeply at the mere sight of Julian's picture in front of her eyes. Her heart melted for him and she hated that still couldn't get over him. She grabbed a pen and started drawing a Uno brow on his face and a black eye. And A sense of joy filled her body as she colored in his teeth with the black ink.

"There!"

Mr. Kim lifted an eyebrow and bit off a piece of his banana. "Do that in real life," he suggested.

"Huh?"

"Give him black eye, he deserve it."

She laughed. "I wish. If only I got the right car that night then I would've fulfilled my revenge."

"Aissh, you know where he live. Hide behind the bushes and hit him!"

"You're so silly, Mr. Kim," she stated. "All I really want to do is show him that I'm something worth missing. I want him to regret ever cheating on a girl like me. I want him to see me as a woman instead of that little girl he saw me as. That's all I want."

"Then fine, I'll help you," she heard a voice say.

She turned around and found Nathan standing there with a box full of fliers. "What are you doing here?"

"Me and the guys decided to make fliers for the café since no one showed up this morning. We just came back from the printing press and I stopped by here to tell you, just in case you were wondering."

Haley looked inside the box and picked one up. It said, "_Chivalry Café. Coffee and service that will meet your needs. Come on in!" _She couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" he questioned. "Why are you laughing?"

"That's horrible. No one's going to come to the café with this lame slogan on a white piece of paper."

He scoffed. "You think you can do better?"

"I'm an artist. I can draw or paint something to represent us and you can come up with a much better phrase than this," she replied.

"So I spent money for nothing."

"No one's going to take one second to look at that."

He groaned and dropped the box on the floor. "Fine."

"Don't just leave that here."

"I don't need them anymore."

She gave him a look. "Stop leaving things lying around just because you don't need it!" Hence his damaged Porsche. "Pick it up!"

"Listen to the young lady," the old woman called out from the side. Nathan turned to her in surprise and noticed her stern expression. He couldn't disobey an old lady, so he bent down to pick the box up.

Haley smiled as the old woman gave her a wink.

"The guys are outside waiting to distribute the fliers," he stated.

"Then tell them that it might be a while," she answered.

"How long?"

"Maybe an hour or two."

"What?"

"Eat lunch or something. It won't be too long."

He groaned and carried the box under one arm. "Fine, we'll be at the food court then."

"I'll meet you there when I'm done," she stated.

He nodded and noticed the glare he was receiving from the Asian man behind the register. He grew uncomfortable and sent him a tiny smile. "Hurry," he added before he started walking back towards the door.

Haley looked away to talk to Mr. Kim again, but then she remembered what Nathan said earlier. Something about helping her? She spun around and called out for him.

He stopped and she caught up with him in the middle of the store. "You said you wanted to help me earlier."

"Oh yeah," he replied, disappointed that she didn't forget. "I thought that if it helped you work better at the cafe, I might as well do it."

Her face lit up in delight. "Really? You're really going to help me?"

"I guess. I don't know how, but I'll try."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she repeated and surprised him with a tight embrace. "I'm not mad at you for calling me pathetic anymore."

Nathan was taken back by the sudden touch of their bodies and just stood there. He didn't hug people that often, only to his mother and the people he was really close to. But he had to admit that hugging Haley was kind of nice. He wasn't pushing her away and he wasn't getting bothered by it either.

"Ahem." They both turned around to see Jake and Clay standing outside the store watching them.

Nathan's eyes widened and quickly pushed her away. Haley stumbled on her balance and bit her lip, embarrassed that she hugged him a bit too long.

"I'll meet you at the food court," he stated.

"Okay," she smiled.

He walked out of the _Paint Shop _quickly and met up with the guys.

"What were you doing hugging _my_ girl?" Clay questioned, jokingly.

"Stop it, don't even start," Nathan warned.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired and motivated!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi everyone. I'm sorry for the long wait. I just haven't had the time lately. I knew I should've pre-written this before I posted it up. Agh. It's one of my regrets. lol. But I'm glad that everyone is loving the story so far even if you have to wait a while for updates. Yeah Nathan is pretty mean so far - meaner than in PLL - but he'll change soon! And haha. Yeah "turn me into a woman" was a pretty gutter-ish kind of sentence. I wish I could write a longer review like I usually do, but I just don't have time. I am very thankful for the reviews once again. I hope that I can update twice in a row next time since the weekend is about to come along. Let's cross our fingers in hopes that I can update regularly again! You guys are my motivation! I love you all. This chapter is a little shorter than the previous chaps, but it's still pretty lengthy! Enjoy.  
**

**Annie**

* * *

**Chapter 6.**

"Here."

Nathan looked down and found a piece of paper with her drawing on it. He was really impressed with the logo. There was a knight shield with a steaming cup of coffee in the middle of it. Written across from it said '_Chivalry Café'._

"You like it?" she asked, standing at the side of the table.

"It's nice," Nathan answered.

Clay and Jake took a moment to observe the drawing and had the same reaction as Nathan.

"Wow, you're really good!" Clay complimented, picking up the picture to get a closer look. "I like how you put in the shield representing knights and chivalry. Very impressive!"

"Now all we need is a slogan. One that will reel in the customers," Nathan stated.

"How about this," Clay began. "Since I'm a song writer, I'm pretty good with words_. Chivalry Cafe, a place with delicious coffee and attractive service. We serve all and we'll always treat you right!_"

"Wow, look at you Mr. Song writer!" Haley smiled, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That's really clever. _Chivalry – Service_! I like it!"

Clay grinned at Haley's excitement and bowed his head. "Thank you very much, me lady!"

"And he's in character too!" Haley exclaimed.

Nathan rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by their interaction. "I could've thought of that."

"You're really a song writer?" Jake asked.

"I've written some stuff," Clay answered.

"Are they any good?"

"Yeah, I suppose. They're pretty old so they're probably not in style anymore. I've been trying to write a song, but I haven't had any real inspiration."

"I'd like to hear one of your songs whenever you get the chance," Haley smiled as she pulled a chair next to Jake.

Clay observed Haley from his seat and nodded, delighted that she wanted to hear him sing. "I'll bring my guitar one day and I'll sing something for you."

"I can't wait!" she clapped.

Jake felt uncomfortable sitting in between the two as they unconsciously flirted with each other. It wasn't easy for him to have his high school crush sitting beside him while another guy tried to impress her with his charming talents. It was something Jake wasn't able to do back in high school. He always liked Haley. She was smart, talented and naturally beautiful. But he never got the chance to get to know her as a real friend. They talked now and then during class; it just never went further than that. And now working with her at the café gave him a second chance to be something important in her life and vise versa.

Nathan finished writing the slogan on the piece of paper and looked up when he noticed how the guys were interacting with Haley. Clay was being himself – flirting his way to her heart while Jake was sitting there, admiring her like she was some kind of angel. They obviously saw something in Haley, so Nathan took a second to see what was so fascinating. Haley was laughing at something Clay had said and he observed how infectious her smile was. She actually looked prettier this way rather than the swollen-eyed-mascara-smeared look she'd been sporting lately. It gave him an odd but warm feeling inside which brought him back to their little hug at the _Paint Shop_. He wasn't quite sure what was going on. Was he actually growing some compassion for the reckless girl? His eyes furrowed and he shook away his thoughts.

"Anyways, now that we got this settled, let's go to the printing store and get this done," Nathan stated.

"And_ you_ called _me_ a slut," someone commented from behind them. They all turned around at the voice and found a skinny brunette with two shopping bags on her arms.

Haley's throat became dry at the sight of her ex-best friend.

"You treat me like dirt for being with Julian yet look at you, chit chatting with three men!"

"Who is that?" Clay questioned, feeling the tension between the two girls.

"Nobody you need to know," Haley answered.

Alex scoffed and walked closer to them. "I'm Alex. I used to be her best friend until she erased me from her life."

Haley groaned into her hands and combed them through her hair in frustration. "Alex, I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now."

Nathan observed the brunette and thought about what Julian told Haley the other day at the café. _She was able to make me happy. _Nathan could see what Julian was talking about. Alex was actually really pretty. She had on a nice, tight dress and a pair of pumps. Her hair was perfectly kempt unlike Haley's which was always in a pony tail or messy bun. Alex had sex-appeal. She was definitely Clay's type. And she was totally different from Haley as far as physical appearance went.

"And you all are. . . .?" Alex questioned.

"I'm Nathan, Haley's new boss at Chivalry café."

"I'm Jake. I work there."

"And I'm Clay," he grinned, offering to shake her hand. "I work there too."

Haley looked at her with a serious expression. "We were just making up a flier to promote the place."

"Oh," Alex responded, clearly wrong for jumping into conclusions. But she was surprised to see Haley surrounded by so many attractive men at once. _How was she so lucky? First Julian then them? _She glanced down and found a piece of paper with Haley's drawing on it. "Did Haley make this?"

"Yeah, it looks good, huh?" Clay replied, grinning from ear to ear because of the pretty brunette in front of him.

"I'm not surprised. She's always been good at all these artsy stuff."

"Is it good enough to make you want to go to the café?" Nathan questioned.

Haley observed Alex's expression, waiting impatiently to hear her response. It was probably going to be a no considering it was something Haley drew.

"Of course!" Alex replied with a fake cheerful smile. "And now that I figured out that all of you handsome fellas work there; I think I'll become a regular customer."

"Great!" Clay smiled. "_I'll be_ – I mean – we'll be waiting!"

"I guess I'll see you all soon," she smiled and waved goodbye.

"She's pretty," Clay complimented.

Haley's jaw tightened once the brunette left their sight and she grabbed onto Jake's drink and crushed it in half.

All of their eyes widened at the torn Styrofoam and glanced at Haley in curiosity.

"Thanks, I didn't want that drink anyways," Jake stated, grabbing tissues from the container in the middle of the table to clean up the mess.

She glanced at the spill and smiled at him nervously. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I could always buy another one."

"I just – ugh," she groaned.

Nathan observed her expression. He could tell that she was breaking again. He was the only one of the guys who knew any details about Haley's issues. He didn't know much, but he knew more than Jake and Clay did. And he immediately assumed that Alex was the other woman and ex-best friend. It was just obvious that she was the girl who was more womanly than Haley was.

"Bad past?" Jake questioned. Haley glanced at Nathan who knew the answer to that and then nodded at Jake.

**

* * *

**

"Hahahaha!" Percy laughed.

Tim cocked his head to the side as he stared at the chubby old man grinning in his sleep. It had been like for the past hour or so. Tim would sit by the window bored as hell and out of nowhere Percy would burst out into an obnoxious laughter. It was frightening for Tim. He thought that the old geezer was possessed by some evil demon or something and was about to creep in on him any minute. He was so scared that he prayed for someone – anyone- to enter the café so he that he wouldn't be alone with Percy anymore. He grabbed a Cheeto from the huge bag he was holding and stuffed it into his mouth before looking out the window again.

An old lady, close to Percy's age, slowed down a little bit by the entrance. Tim grew excited and carefully watched as the old woman read the sign. She took a step forward and Tim leaned in closer to the window. She laid the front of her shoe on the step, but then put it back down on the concrete. Tim pouted, but then she moved forward again and he grew excited. She placed her foot back on the concrete and he pouted. She placed it back on the step then back on the concrete. The lady did this for another minute or two, contemplating whether to walk in or not. And that frustrated the hell out of Tim.

He crushed his bag of chips and yelled," Are you going to walk in or not, grandma!"

The woman glanced at him with a stunned expression and took a full step backwards.

"No-no-no," Tim responded nervously. "I didn't mean it like that." But the woman walked away angrily anyways. "Damn it," he groaned, placing his face against the glass.

A taxi parked by the curb and he watched as the door opened. Climbing out from the backseat was Haley in her black and white café uniform. He groaned at the sight of her and hit his head once again on the glass.

Haley closed the door and tilted her head at the sight of Tim's face against the window. She grew curious and stepped inside the café to see why he was placing his face on the glass like that. A snoring and chuckling sound could be heard from behind the counter, so she walked closer and found Percy sleeping comfortably on his chair. Haley couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

She looked around and noticed that not one customer was sitting inside the café. Percy's brewing supplies didn't even look like they've been touched. Haley turned to Tim. "Has it been like this all day?"

Tim removed his face from the window, leaving a mark on it and said, "Yeah, I've been stuck with him all day!" He grabbed a Cheeto and aimed it at Percy, but failed. Percy twitched and changed positions on the chair.

"Why didn't you go with the guys to distribute fliers?" Haley questioned, walking towards him.

Tim furrowed his eyes when he noticed her approaching him and stiffened, afraid to be touched by the unlucky girl. "Nathan wanted me to stay here just in case anybody came in," he answered.

"I see," she replied. "Well since nobody's coming in, why don't you do some promoting at the door?" Haley suggested, leaning in to grab a chip from the bag, but Tim snatched it away from her. She looked at him curiously.

"Why don't _you_ do that?" he replied, holding his Cheetos close to him.

"Because I'm not the one who attracted all those people yesterday at the opening. They came for you guys," Haley replied.

Tim took a second to remember all those women- all the very attractive, young women. Yeah, they came for the good-looking service, but as he remembered, he was rejected by every one. And that wasn't something to boast about.

"I don't want to," Tim snapped, stuffing a chip in his mouth.

Haley sneered at him. "Why don't you try?"

"I just don't want to."

Haley sighed deeply and stepped away to walk back to the counter. "I'll do it myself then," she stated. She made her way behind the counter and grabbed all the untouched supplies. Then she went into the kitchen to fill up a glass container with water. And she returned to the counter to boil it.

Tim watched her curiously, wondering what she was doing. Even though she was unlucky in his eyes, he wanted to know what yesterday was all about. She was crying like she was in excruciating pain. For that one moment, he was willing to help her, he just didn't know how. He never had to deal with a crying woman before. He continued to observe her as she brewed the coffee. He found that her eyes were a little swollen and kind of sunken in.

Haley felt like she was being stared at and looked up from the counter. Tim quickly turned to the window when he noticed that she was focusing on him. She furrowed her eyes and continued working on the coffee.

She heard groaning from behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Mr. Percy stretching his arms out above his head.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Percy," she greeted.

"Haley, when did you come in?" he asked, surprised.

"Just a while ago."

He craned his neck to see what she was doing with his equipment. "What are you doing there?"

"I'm making coffee shots and I'm going to bring them outside for people to have so they can get more inside," she answered, remembering the technique Mr. Percy taught her during training week.

The chubby old man grinned, impressed by Haley's motivation. "Wow, that's a good idea."

"Even though they tasted some during the opening, they probably weren't even paying attention to the coffee since they only came for the guys," she explained. "We need to remind them that we're a coffee shop, not Abercrombie and Fitch."

Mr. Percy guffawed at that comment and stood up from his chair to help Haley with the brewing.

Tim made an annoyed face as he continued looking through the window. Everyone kept passing by the café as if it didn't exist. Some peeked inside, but then decided not come in. They were probably disappointed that the other guys weren't working. Tim was desperate for at least one customer, so he threw his chip bag to the side and marched out onto the sidewalk. He grabbed the first person he saw and dragged him inside to order something – anything.

"I don't want coffee!" the middle school boy exclaimed as Tim pushed him down in the chair.

"Order something!"

"I don't want to!" the boy complained.

"I'll give you ten dollars if you order something," Tim offered.

"Tim! You can't bribe someone with money to order a cup of coffee!" Haley called out.

"I'm desperate!"

The little boy glared at the demanding man and glanced at the prices on the chalkboard. One tall caramel latte was three dollars. He grinned and pulled out his hand. "Alright, I'll order something. Just give me the ten bucks."

"Thank you," Tim replied, relieved and pulled out his wallet to give the middle school boy ten bucks.

"I'll have a caramel latte, please!" the boy called out.

"I'm on it!" Haley smiled, realizing that Tim just paid a boy ten bucks to buy a three dollar cup of coffee. She shook her head at him and started pouring a pitcher of boiling water into a coffee filter that was on top of another glass pitcher.

While Haley was busy making the boy's coffee, Mr. Percy finished making the pot of his perfectly brewed Amaretto coffee. Haley gave Tim the fresh mocha latte to give to the boy and began setting up a table on the outside patio. She placed stacks of small paper cups on the table along with the fresh pitcher of coffee and a sign that said "sample coffee, get more inside" that she made really quickly.

And instantly, people started coming by, taking a few cups and marveling over the delicious taste. With Haley's sweet and infectious personality, she was able to recruit a few customers to walk inside to ask for more.

"Is this by machine?" an older man questioned, sipping from his paper cup.

"Freshly brewed sir," Haley answered with a smile.

"It's brilliant, who's the barista?"

"Mr. Percy Ryan, sir. He's inside if you want to meet him."

"I would love to meet him," the old man grinned full of excitement. "I haven't tasted so many flavors in a cup of coffee since I visited Italy in my early twenties!"

"Really? You've been to Italy?" Haley questioned. The mad nodded. "Our barista has been to many places in Europe. He's learned how to make all different kinds of coffee. I'm sure he'll be happy to serve you something in particular."

"AH!" he exclaimed happily. "I love this place already."

"I hope you enjoy it!" Haley stated as the man stepped inside in a hurry.

She smiled delightfully at the thrilling expression on the man's face. It seemed like he was reliving his younger years just by drinking a simple cup of coffee. It's interesting how such a small thing could do wonders to a person.

After people overheard their conversation, many of them started approaching the table to taste the samples. By surprise, they marveled over the flavor and tastiness of it as well and marched right in to ask for more.

Tim watched as Haley worked outside and noticed how more customers started coming in. He was really impressed. He didn't think a girl as reckless as her could have such amazing social skills.

**

* * *

**

"Thanks for going to the store for me, sweetie," Nathan's mom stated as he walked down the aisles of the local market.

"Anything for you," he replied, stopping in front of the soup section. "You wanted chicken noodle, right?" he questioned. His mother fell ill earlier that day so she asked him to go pick a few things up for her since Dan was busy at a meeting. Nathan was kind of enough to spare some time for her even though he had work. He was the boss after all. He had the privilege to come in and out anytime he wanted to.

The coffee shop had been opened for about a week now and the service has been going very well. The customers were coming in and out, happy and energetic. There were no problems so far. The only issue was that there weren't enough customers.

"Yes," she replied.

He chose a certain brand and picked it up. "Okay, I got it. Is that all?"

"Um," she began as he started walking out of the aisle. "I'm about to start my monthly cycle and I ran out of pads. Can you pick up a pack for me?"

Nathan stopped in his tracks. _What did she just say? She was about to start? Pads? Pick up a pack for her? _He didn't want to buy such a thing. That was a woman's job to do this ahead of time. _Don't they have to mark a calendar for this kind of thing?_

He cleared his throat. "You want me to get a pack for you?"

"Yes, if you don't mind," his mother answered. "I really need it Nathan."

He cringed and looked up at the signs above the aisles. Then he began walking towards the health and beauty aisle.

"Alright, I'll get them."

"Thank you, son. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

"I'll see you soon."

"Alright, bye," he replied and hung up. He sighed deeply and stared longingly at that forbidden place.

The closer he got to the aisle the scarier it was. It's not like he never went through the health and beauty aisle before, but just going there to buy menstrual pads for his mom was a bit embarrassing. He didn't want anyone seeing him pick it up. It just wasn't something a man should do – at least nothing Nathan would do.

He walked a little closer as a few woman walked out from the aisle. He received a few looks – obviously amazed by his handsomeness- and he smiled at them to avoid any awkward tension. When he was just a few inches away from the aisle, someone else walked out and he immediately turned to the bags of candy hanging on the shelf. And he pretended to be interested in buying one. He didn't even want anybody knowing that he went in there at all.

Once the lady was gone, he glanced down the aisle and noticed that no one was there. He smiled to himself -happy that no one was around- and quickly walked in, targeting the shelf full of pads. He didn't think that there would be so many kinds. There were wings, no wings, heavy, light, long, regular, maxi, mini.

"What the fuck?" he questioned as he glared at them like evil little demons.

Nathan turned to the side and surprisingly found Haley turning the corner into the aisle. She was wearing another one of her original outfits – obviously not made to impress anyone of the male species. He quickly stepped to the side towards the band-aids and skimmed them with his finger.

Haley furrowed her eyes when she spotted Nathan in the aisle. She couldn't help but laugh inside at the sight of him pretending to be interested in the Band-Aids. She saw him earlier from the breakfast section. He was looking directly at the menstrual pads like he was going to burn them with his eyes.

"Hi boss," Haley greeted, grinning mischievously. "What ya doin' there?"

Nathan turned to her and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Just looking at Band Aids."

"Ah, I see," she nodded, walking closer to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Haley lifted her little red basket of items. "Mr. Kim closed the store for the day, but I'm still working. He asked me to buy a few things for the shop," she answered. She observed the one can of soup in his hands. "Living on a budget?"

"Huh?"

"The can of soup," she pointed out.

He glanced at it. "Oh, yeah. My mother's sick and my dad's busy at work. She wanted me to run a few errands for her."

She nodded. "No wonder."

He looked at her curiously. "No wonder what?"

"Um nothing."

"What!" he exclaimed, forcefully.

"Calm down, soup boy."

"Just tell me what you're talking about."

She gave him an evil smile and moved her head towards the pads beside them. Nathan's eyes widened at the point of her direction and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"You need those huh?"

"What?"

"Your mom told you to get those, didn't she?"

"So . . ."

"Then get one," she ordered.

Nathan glanced at the shelf and slyly looked around him to see if anyone was looking, but there were a bunch of people at the market today.

"Are you scared to touch them? They aren't going to bite you."

"Are you trying to annoy me?" Nathan questioned

Haley shrugged. "Maybe, it's kind of fun."

"Remember that I'm your boss. I can fire you anytime I want."

Haley scoffed. "Don't be so dramatic."

"If you still want me to teach you how to be a woman, buy that for me."

"What?"

"I'll pay you back if you buy that for me. You're a woman. Do a woman's job. It's your first lesson."

Haley looked at him with a serious expression. "That's my first lesson?"

"Yeah, do it."

"Hold on a second here, I didn't ask you tell me what to do."

"Fine. Then the project's over. You can stay the way you are by dressing like that but Julian will never regret ever losing you," he replied.

Haley's jaw tightened. That kind of hurt, but she needed to be stronger than that. She was still weak after all.

"Alright, I'll buy it for you," she gave in. She stomped to the side and browsed for the right one. She picked up the thin ones and held it under her arm.

Nathan's eyes widened. "How'd you know which one to get?"

"I figured your mother was in her middle ages or bit older than that. They are usually lighter at –"

"Okay stop," Nathan replied cringing at the thought of the awful gift Mother Nature gave them. "I don't want to know anything."

She giggled. "I won't say a word."

"Let's go," he stated, turning around and walked ahead of her out of the aisle. And she followed.

The lines were longer in each register, but there was one line that was short. Nathan didn't see it so Haley hurried over to it before Nathan or anyone else could. But when Nathan noticed her speed walking towards the short line, he quickly followed her but with longer strides.

She was about a few feet away from it until she found Nathan passing her up and reaching the line before her. Her eyes widened and she clenched her fists.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, hitting him on the arm as he placed his one can of soup on the conveyor belt. "I was here first."

He turned to her. "Um obviously I was."

"I have more items than you. Be a gentleman and let me go before you."

"Here's your next lesson. Be patient."

She scoffed. "I will not!"

"You're failing right now."

"This is not a lesson, you ass! You're taking advantage of the project!"

"Now that's not really lady like of you," He stated as he stepped forward. "It's not classy to use those kinds of words."

Her jaw tightened and she glanced inside her basket of items. The package of pads made her grin. She picked it up and placed it next to his can of soup.

Nathan turned to the side and quickly glared at Haley. "What are you doing?"

"Be a man and pay for that," she ordered with a smile.

"Haley," he said through his teeth.

She continued to smile at him and turned away towards the cashier. "Oh look, it's your turn."

Nathan huffed out a breath and stepped forward to greet the girl up front. She was a pretty blonde girl too. She gave him a sexy smile and that just made it even worse for him. He wasn't going to look so sexy after she sees what he was buying. He watched as she scanned the can of soup and then went over to grab the pads. He noticed that she made a face at it and her happy glow darkened.

"For your girlfriend?" she questioned.

"Oh," Nathan started. "That's not mine. I don't know how that got there. It must be hers," he stated, looking at Haley. She glared at him.

The blonde glow came back when she put the package to the side. "So you don't have a girlfriend?"

"Not at the moment."

The blonde grinned. Nathan gave her a ten dollar bill and she gave him the change. Then she printed out the receipt and wrote something on the back of it. "Call me sometime," she said in a whispery tone and gave him the receipt.

Haley rolled her eyes and pretended to throw up. But she stopped when she saw that Nathan just walked away like he didn't even know her. She scoffed and stepped up to pay for her items. The blonde glanced at Haley's awful outfit. It was a combination of an eighties hand-knit sweater and a polka dotted wrap-around skirt. And Haley heard her giggle a little bit. She tried to ignore it and pulled out the money she owed.

Once she got her things, she ran out of the market. The second she stepped out from Nathan pulled her to the side.

"Give it to me," he demanded.

She glared at him and gave him the bag with the pads. "Here! Are you happy?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Whatever," she replied. "Can we start the real lessons now?"

"We _are_ starting the real lessons. We're taking baby steps. And you just failed them all," he stated as he began walking towards his car in the parking lot.

"What?" she questioned, running after him. "What do you mean I failed all of them? I bought the stupid pads for you and I let you get in front of me in line. How did I fail?"

"First of all, you weren't patient and second of all, you gave in too easily," he stated, pulling his keys out to unlock in his Porsche.

"Really?" she questioned, surprised.

"Yes, really," he stated as he opened the door to his car. "And third, your outfit had no chance of passing," he added, climbing inside. "See you at work, more lessons later." He shut the door.

She stepped aside to let him leave and she continued to think about the brief lessons that just happened inside the market. But then she realized something and tried to catch Nathan's attention.

"You didn't pay me back, jackass!" she screamed. But Nathan sped off into the highway. When he disappeared, Haley found a woman holding her daughter's ears and a grandfather shaking his head at her.

She groaned, embarrassed and walked back to her car.

**

* * *

**

Nathan chuckled to himself as he stopped at a red light.

"Wow, I'm brilliant," he mumbled as he glanced at the bag of pads on the passenger seat. "Lessons, haha," he laughed.

He just made that up as he went. He didn't want to buy those pads. He really didn't. Haley just happened to be there at the right time and he took advantage of the "woman project" to help himself. Who knew something as silly as that could help him in a situation like this?

But he realized that his lessons were kind of convenient for her. She had the tendency to give in to people really easily. With his Porsche situation at their meeting, she told him that she'd pay for the whole car because he said so. Then she easily accepted his offer to work at the café. She even let Julian blame her for their failed relationship. The girl definitely needed a lot of work. He noticed that she would fight a little bit at first, but then her energy and self-esteem would take over and it would bring her down. That or she was just too nice.

Nathan was definitely going to have fun with this.

**

* * *

**

Lydia walked into the coffee shop with Vivian behind her. They both hurried in as soon as Vivian got out of school. She'd been waiting to come to shop for days. Since she's been working at the Paint Shop she hasn't been able to stop by to see her new found love – boy whose name sounded like dough. She still didn't know his name. He and Haley mentioned it to her, but it just flew past her head.

Percy stopped brewing coffee when he noticed Lydia walking in with a container of food in her hands. She looked stunningly beautiful as always. Since the opening day, he couldn't stop thinking about her. It was almost like love at first sight. Like they were meant to be for some reason.

"Vivian, we're not staying long, okay?" Lydia stated. She turned around and Vivian was already walking away. She groaned and continued walking towards the counter where the jolly, sweet man stood. "Hi there, Percy."

"Hi Lydia," he greeted.

"Is Haley around? I came to bring her some food from lunch."

"She hasn't arrived yet."

"She hasn't?"

"No. Sorry. She's probably on her way though."

Lydia nodded and smiled at him sweetly. "Okay, she's probably hungry. So I'm going to leave this here. Give it to her when she comes back, will you?"

Percy nodded happily. "Of course, Lydia."

"Thank you Percy," she replied. "And you've done a really good job so far. It looks great."

"Thank you," Percy replied giddily.

Vivian was sitting by the window as she nonchalantly stared at Clay clean one of the tables. She sighed heavily at the attractive sight and smiled. It was like he was the only person she could see in the room.

He looked up from the table and glanced at her. Clay grinned and sent her a wink before he walked away with the dishes into the kitchen. Her eyes widened from the gesture and she felt her heart speed up.

"Vivian, let's go," her mother called out. She didn't listen. She was too caught up with her own thoughts. "Vivian! I have a 5'o clock appointment. Come on!"

Vivian shook herself out from her thoughts and craned her neck to see Clay through the kitchen opening. All she could see was his back. She moped and got up from the chair to meet up with her mom. As they were walking out, Alex was walking in.

"Hi Mrs. James. Vivian," she greeted, happily.

Lydia couldn't look at her the same way after knowing that she was the tramp who stole Julian away from her daughter, but she wanted to be mutual about everything.

So she greeted her back kindly. "Hi, Alex." Lydia glanced at Vivian and noticed her giving her the finger. "Vivian!" she gasped.

Alex glared at the little high school girl but smiled at Lydia kindly.

"You actually came!" Clay called out from the kitchen.

They both turned to the handsome blonde. "I told you I would come," Alex responded as she walked away from the James and towards Clay.

Vivian's eyes furrowed. _Oh no she is not! He is mine! _This gave Vivian another reason to hate Alex. She knew that she was a slut since the first time they met. Whenever a man was around, she'd always do her best to steal them away. _Slut!_ And she definitely didn't like how she was already making moves on the guy she's been eyeing for the past week.

"Mom, can I stay for a little while?" Vivian questioned.

Lydia could tell that it was because of Alex. Knowing Vivians's personality, she knew it wouldn't be the best idea to let her stay here when Alex was around especially in Haley's work environment.

"No, you're going to help me with the dress I'm working on."

"Mom, please!" she begged, glancing again at the two flirting by the kitchen doors.

"No, Vivian, let's go," Lydia demanded, walking out from the coffee shop.

Vivian groaned as the two walked down the steps. As they were walking away, they saw Haley climbing out of a taxi cab.

"Haley!" Lydia greeted.

"So this is where you guys were. I just came back from the house and no one was home."

"I was delivering lunch to you just in case you didn't eat. I gave it to Percy so he'll give it to you."

"Aw thanks, mom! I'm starving."

Vivian sighed and kept glancing inside the coffee shop. Haley could tell that she was annoyed by something and she poked her on the shoulder. "What's up with you?"

"You don't want to go in there. The whore is in the building," Vivian replied, pretending to claw at the windows.

"Vivian, the language," Lydia snapped.

"Sorry," she apologized.

Haley's eyes widened. "Alex is in there?"

Vivian nodded.

"Figures."

"And she was getting really cozy with my man!" Vivian complained.

Haley lifted an eyebrow. She remembered the day at the mall. Clay was practically drooling over her. All the guys seemed to be phased by her beauty. It's one quality Haley envied- the sex appeal.

She sighed deeply. "What did you expect from her?"

"I think you should kill her," Vivian suggested.

"Vivian. Stop giving Haley rotten ideas. Remember the last time you suggested something? Besides, violence is never the way to solve a problem," Lydia advised. She glanced at her watch. "And the time is ticking. Let's go so I can prepare everything and meet up at that lady's house."

"Mom," she complained.

"Vivian, not another word."

Vivian groaned and crossed her arms.

"I guess I'll see you guys later?" Haley stated.

"Yeah. Don't let Alex bring you down. K?" Lydia smiled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Haley nodded. "Love you, honey," Lydia waved goodbye before she turned around wrapping an arm around Vivian's shoulders and climbed into their car.

Haley took a moment to herself before she decided to walk inside the coffee shop. No matter how big the city was, Alex seemed to be always around and ready to ruin her life. She took a step forward nervously but as always, bad luck got the best of her causing her to trip over her shoelace and fall on the cement steps.

"Lesson four, guys like girls with graceful feet," she heard someone say behind her.

Haley looked over her shoulder and found Nathan standing there with his hands in his pockets. She glared at him and picked herself up from the steps.

"Really? Are you really going to do that?" she questioned, dusting off her uniform.

"Well do you want me to stop?" he replied.

She glanced through the window and saw the back of Alex's head. She sighed and said, "No," in a very unenthused tone.

"Then don't complain. I'm only helping you because you asked me to," he stated.

"Okay, just don't joke about it. I asked you on a serious note. So be serious about it," she demanded.

Nathan stepped forward and began walking up the steps to the door. "I won't joke about it," he stated.

"Good," she answered, still standing on the sidewalk.

Nathan was about to enter when he realized that Haley wasn't following him. He turned to her curiously.

"Aren't you coming in?"

"Oh," she replied. "Um, I'll be there in a minute. I want to breathe in the fresh air."

He chuckled in disbelief. "Are you serious? It's work time."

"Just a minute," she pleaded.

"Haley, get to work now," he demanded.

"Ehh," she responded nervously, fearing to see Alex's face. She really didn't want to see her any longer, but she kept coming around. She really had some nerve to stay close after what she did.

Nathan had his hand on the handle of the door and waited for Haley to move, but she didn't.

"Come on, Haley." He saw her tense up and his eyes furrowed. "Is there a reason why you don't want to go inside?"

Her eyes widened. "Huh? No!"

"Then why aren't you moving your feet?"

"I'm afraid I might trip again," she lied.

Nathan sighed deeply and glanced through the glass. He found the familiar brunette he met at the mall a few days ago. _Great! Just great, he complained in his head. _But he thought that since she was here, it would be a great opportunity for Haley to learn something.

"I see now," he stated, turning away from the window.

"What?"

"You don't want to go in because your friend Alex is inside," he answered. "She's the girl who Julian cheated with, am I right?" Haley felt her heart ache at the thought and she nodded. "Well, let's use this situation as one of your lessons on how to be a woman."

"How will that work out?"

"The first step is to get over that broken heart," he answered.

"I told you that I just can't get rid of it," she snapped.

"Since you can't, pretend that you are. Go inside, work and act like you don't care," he retorted.

She scoffed. "I don't think it's going to be that easy for me."

"It's not going to be easy, Haley. You can't change a thing if you don't try."

She sighed deeply and glanced at her hands as she fiddled with her bracelet. He was right. If she didn't make any moves to do what she wanted to do then everything would just stay the same. "I'll try."

Nathan noticed the fear in her eyes. It was kind of sad to see her that way – to be so fragile and so weak. It's a shame that she had to be the one who had to go through this kind of situation. And it was kind of odd for him to be helping a reckless girl like her. It wasn't just about him wanting her to work well at the cafe, but it was also because he wanted to help her. He felt like she needed it. She needed someone to teach her how to grow. No one was worth this kind of pain.

"Okay. Change starts now," he said, opening the door to the café.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: ** Hello! I'm so so sorry for the late delay. I was planning on updating earlier but I just never had the time. Thank you all for all the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate and love the support you've all been giving me. And yay, I'm glad to find someone who knows where I got my inspiration from. I'm a Kdrama freak and I am always fascinated by the way they portray their stories and characters. I wanted to present that to you all as well. Coffee Prince and Personal Taste are two of my favorites so thank you for catching that! hehe. But I did make it into my own. I just added a few similarities. I am so sorry Christina for making you wait so long especially when I haven't even done Steadfast yet. You must really hate me? I hope not. I will try my best to fulfill your wishes. lol. Again, thank you all for the wonderful support. I hope I didn't make you lose touch with the story. I wish I can add more to this A/N and talk about how much I appreciate your kindness and time, but I'm quickly working on the next couple of chapters. :)

I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

Always,

Annie

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"See this is why I didn't want to come in here," Haley stated to Nathan as they hung out by the counter.

They both observed Alex by the window as she flaunted her exposed cleavage and legs to every male species in the cafe. With her halter dress and stilettos, there was no doubt she'd catch every guys' attention. She even stole twiddle dee and twiddle dumb's affection. Clay and Tim wouldn't stop asking her if she wanted refills or scones. They were like her little servants. Alex always took advantage of her beauty and used it for her own pleasure. And Haley hated that. She hated that Alex was able to do whatever she wanted because she was more "womanly" and experienced than she was.

Haley had a feeling that this was how she stole Julian away. Just seeing Alex lure other men to her table made Haley think of how Alex's relationship with Julian started. She always wondered how it even began. So many scenarios kept playing in her mind. Now seeing how it possibly played out right before her eyes– attracting men like she attracted Julian with her sexuality - killed her. Alex had already done enough by breaking her and Julian up. Haley didn't need to see her ex-best friend showing it off at her work place. This was possibly revenge for the incident at the gallery. Haley had no time and no strength to be reminded of her past anymore. With Alex showing up so much, Haley will never get rid of her heart ache.

"If she shows up again after this day and the days after that, you can fire me," Haley suggested.

Nathan looked away from the brunette and turned to Haley curiously. "What?"

"I'm serious, you can fire me," she replied. "Better yet, just fire me now because I can't handle this."

He furrowed his eyes at her. "Is it really that hard to handle her being here? You were fine when she showed up at the mall."

"That was at the mall," Haley answered. "This is at the café where I work. The atmosphere is different because I serve people here!"

He sighed deeply and glanced at Percy who was busy brewing a couple coffee orders. Then he turned back to Haley and noticed how tense she was.

"You seriously can't work here if she's around?" he questioned.

She nodded. "She's the reason why I am no longer getting married. I can't look at her without thinking about my break up."

"She's been here for about fifteen minutes and you haven't broken down yet."

"It seems like it's been forever," she sighed, placing her chin on her hand and began observing Percy brew coffee.

"Well, your break up was forever ago. I still can't believe you haven't gotten over it yet," he stated. "If that happened to me, I'd forget about it in a day. People like that aren't worth my time."

Haley turned to him and furrowed her eyes. "Just wait until the love of your life cheats on you with your best friend and see how long it takes for you to get over it."

"That's never going to happen," he laughed, watching Percy pour milk into a mug.

She lifted her eyebrows. "What do you mean that's never going to happen?"

"No one would ever cheat on me."

She scoffed and shook her head. She couldn't believe how cocky he was being. Why are all attractive men so conceited? Does a humble handsome man even exist in this world or are they all carbon copies of Nathan Scott?

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she stated.

Nathan turned away from Percy and looked at her. "Why is it stupid?"

"Because you're basically saying that you're too good to be cheated on. Like you're at the top of the food chain. No one can get a better catch than you."

He smirked, delighted by her answer. "Now if you were saying that to flirt with me, I would be pleased. But since you're saying it in a negative way, I'm kind of mad that you'd expect that from me."

"What else am I supposed to expect from 'no one would ever cheat on me'? Hmm?"

"I choose my ladies wisely," he answered. "I make sure I don't get involved with women who have the tendency to flirt with every man possible." Haley glanced at Alex when he stated that. "Or girls with pitiful love lives." She immediately turned to him and gave him the evil eye.

Nathan observed the expression she was giving him. He chuckled. It was obvious that she was annoyed by that comment, but somehow he kind of liked it when she glared at him. Besides her being a burden to him for the past couple of weeks, he found her kind of cute. She was actually growing on him despite all the unforgettable incidents she put him through.

"If only I chose my fiancé and best friend wisely," she stated. "Then I wouldn't be in this mess. Good thing I chose you to be mentor me in this atrocious time in my life."

He looked away from her and nodded.

"Here's the two hazel nut orders," Percy stated, placing two mugs in front of her.

Haley smiled. "Thanks Percy," she stated as she grabbed the two hot drinks.

"No problem."

"I guess I better get back to work," Haley stated, climbing down from the stool to deliver the drinks across the room.

Nathan observed her as she made her way past Jake. She smiled at the guy and he returned a smile right back. Once she walked away from him to serve the drinks to the couple at the window, Nathan couldn't help but notice Jake's expression again. He looked at her with such deep affection; it was pretty obvious that he had feelings for Haley.

He hardly knew Jake. He never really had a real conversation with him since he first started working there. They only had a boss and employee relationship. Nathan told orders and Jake followed them. That was that. It was kind of weird to know that he was the only employee he didn't have a relationship with outside of work. He already had Jake and Clay as best friends. Mr. Percy was a close friend of his father's. And Haley was a completely different story. Jake was just there to be there, he thought. He seemed like a cool guy, but he seemed like he was in his own world sometimes. Like he wanted to be left alone. And Nathan was fine with that. Yet, somehow he wanted to know what was going on his mind when it came to Haley. He wasn't quite sure why. He was just curious.

"I feel like I've seen you before," Tim stated as he leaned against the table Alex was sitting at.

"Really?" she questioned, sipping from her cup of coffee. "Where?"

"I don't know. Do you go clubbing a lot?" Tim questioned, trying to hold his tray in a cool way, but he was failing badly at it.

She smiled. "Not really," she lied.

Haley overhead and shook her head. Alex was such a liar. She went to clubs every week. She went on Hump Day Wednesdays. Thirsty Thursdays. Freaky Fridays. And her popular nights, the Slutty Saturdays. It was originally called Sexy Saturdays, but Haley liked to prefer them as Slutty Saturdays since Alex was always a complete and utter mess on those days. Terrible. Haley had to pick her up off the floor a few times because she was too drunk to stand up on her own feet. Awful times.

"Rosettas!" Tim recalled.

Haley and Alex raised their eyebrows at the same time. Alex was well aware that Haley was listening from a far.

"Huh?"

"I saw you at Rosettas. I said something to you but then you sat with some guy," Tim stated.

Haley's jaw tightened. It was obvious that this guy was Mr. Julian Baker. Again, the thoughts of them being together like an engaged couple made her want to vomit. And actually seeing them that way through the window of a restaurant was a stab in the chest _and_ back.

"I don't remember that," Alex stated.

"Figures," Tim replied, sadly.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. You have a boyfriend anyways. He's a really lucky guy to have a girl like you," Tim complimented.

Haley rolled her eyes as she approached one of the messy tables at the corner of the room. If only Tim knew what kind of girl Alex was then he'd probably ditch her in a second. But then again, this was Tim. He'd probably keep her despite her cheating habits.

"I'm actually single," she corrected him.

A delighted smile suddenly appeared across Tim's lips. "His loss then."

"He wasn't my type anyways."

"Then why the hell did you date him for six months," Haley mumbled, wiping off the little spills of coffee from the table.

"What's your type then?" Tim questioned.

Alex smiled. She knew he wanted her to describe him, but she moved her eyes away from him and spotted Nathan at the counter, looking through a brochure. She remembered meeting him at the mall when she found Haley surrounded by attractive men. Although Clay was giving her positive signals at the time, she found Nathan more appealing. He had the face of a God and he was tall too. He was definitely her type.

She returned her gaze back to Tim and said, "I like the tall, dark, and handsome kind."

"You make me want to voooomiiiiit," Haley sang silently as she stacked the plates and cups on her tray.

"Two out of three!" Tim stated gleefully.

"Tim!" Nathan called out. They both turned to him. "Stop chit chatting and get back to work. You have other customers to serve. Remember our motto," he stated. "_We serve all_."

Tim groaned and took a step away from the table. "I got to get back to work," he stated.

"That's fine. You should get back to it anyways."

"Nice meeting you Alex."

"You too, umm-. . . "She forgot his name. In place of it, she just smiled seductively to close up the awkward space. Tim didn't even care if she knew his name or not. He thought she was the hottest creature on the planet. A simple smile was all he needed.

She watched as Tim walked outside to serve the people on the patio and then she glanced at Nathan. He was walking away from the counter towards the window near her. There was a table with a few dishes left for him to clean. Tim was supposed to clean it up, but he was too busy chatting it up with Alex. When he bent down a little to pick the mugs up, she couldn't help but notice his perfectly shaped ass.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled at him when he turned around. "For a young handsome man as yourself, you really know how to keep your employees straight," she stated.

Nathan stopped in his tracks when he realized that she was talking to him. "It's my job. It's what I do."

Haley was about to lift her tray of dishes up when she heard that Alex was now having a conversation with her boss/mentor. She sneakily craned her neck above the tall lanky man with the longest neck she's ever seen to see what their body language was like.

"Well I'm impressed. You're doing a really good job," she complimented.

"Thanks. I'm glad you think so," Nathan replied. He knew what she was trying to do. She's been doing it the whole time she's been here. He had to admit that she was really attractive. Physically, she'd be the type of girl he'd date. She had the looks, but after knowing Haley's history with her, he didn't want to be involved at all. Nathan hated drama and he always made sure that he didn't interfere with anything close to it. But lately, after meeting Haley, he's been the interference. Regardless, he still didn't want to be pulled in deeper into the already complicated love triangle.

"It's been tough, but I'm getting used to it," he added.

"You look like you can take it. You look like a strong guy," she smiled seductively.

Nathan lifted an eyebrow when she leaned forward in her seat. He chuckled silently at the sight of her exposed cleavage. She didn't see it, but he actually pitied her for even trying to seduce him. When a girl turned him off, a girl turned him off. And Alex was definitely a _turn off. _

_Who would want to date a woman like her who was willing to expose herself to any man she wanted? Not me._

"Thanks again," he smiled, holding the tray of dishes carefully in his arms. "Enjoy your coffee.'

"Wait," she called out before he could walk away. "What are you doing after work?"

Haley furrowed her eyebrows and grew curious. She wanted to hear what he was going to say next.

Nathan thought for a second and glanced at Haley who was craning her neck around the lanky man who was blocking her view. He chuckled to himself. Alex noticed him smile at a further distance and turned around to see what it was. Haley quickly turned way when she realized that they were looking at her and continued readjusting all the items on her tray.

Alex's jaw tightened and turned back to Nathan when she realized he was smiling because of Haley. She grew annoyed by it but she didn't let it affect her.

Nathan stopped laughing and glanced at Alex who was waiting for his answer. "I'm actually going to be busy after work. Sorry," he stated.

"Well what about later tonight?" she questioned. "I have a friend who works at Club Infinity. I can get you drinks for free."

Nathan smiled. "That sounds tempting, but I have a busy day at work tomorrow. I can't be out late."

Haley grinned when she heard Nathan reject her. It was probably the best thing she's heard and seen in a while. The girl who thought she could get any man she wanted – single or not- wasn't able to get this one. Finally someone wasn't cursed by her evil spell.

Haley couldn't deny it. Nathan was physically attractive. She remembered seeing his body at his house the other day. He was definitely well-built. Girls would do anything to have a man that looked like him. And to add on to that, Nathan was actually pretty okay when he wanted to be. He was helping her after all. After being such a burden to him, he was still willing to help her. He hired her to paint a mural for the café and asked her to work there even though she destroyed his car. She even thought he was going to fire her when she came to work with her issues still intact, but he didn't. No matter what she did, he still gave her chance after chance. She just couldn't stand his pompous and demanding attitude. But Haley loved the fact that he didn't want anything to do with Alex.

_Surprise! Nathan had some taste after all._

"The weekend then," she suggested. "I'm not taking no for an answer. I want to see you there Saturday."

"We'll see," Nathan answered.

Haley shook her head. She could feel the desperation in Alex's voice. She found it kind of humorous to see Alex this way. She's never been rejected by a guy before, she was the one who always did the rejecting. There's a first for everything.

**

* * *

**

It was eight in the evening and Julian had just finished working with one of his clients. So he decided to take some time to check on Alex. He still had deep feelings for her. He just couldn't understand why she was the one who broke up with him. It didn't make sense to him. They were both at fault, but she blamed the whole situation on him. She never admitted that she did anything wrong. Regardless of her selfishness, Julian was still attached to her. She gave him everything he wanted after all.

He parked at the curb next to the boutique where she worked. She was a retailer for one of the popular shops in town. Every teenage girl loved that place except for Vivian. She thought the clothes looked cheap and never changed through the seasons. It was bland.

Alex was alone in the shop which meant she was closing for the night. He watched as she walked across the room with dresses hanging over her arm. She hung a few on the racks. Then he observed her as she sneakily ripped a tag off one of the items. His eyes widened and watched as she stuffed it into her bag that she hid underneath the racks.

"What the hell?" he questioned himself. "Is she really stealing that dress?"

**

* * *

**

"She was only here for about thirty minutes," Haley stated over the phone as everyone began walking out of the café.

"Did she talk to him? Did she flirt with him?" Vivian questioned.

Haley rolled her eyes and bumped into Tim's back as he suddenly halted right in front of her. "What the-" she cried out. "Tim!"

"Someone dropped a dollar," he replied, kneeling down to grab it.

She groaned and walked out onto the sidewalk. "She basically flirted with anything that had a penis," Haley answered.

"But did she talk to my man?" Vivian emphasized.

"In all honesty, _he_ talked to her," Haley stated, smiling at the guys as they started walking to their cars. "He was like a magnet like the rest of them."

"Ugh," Vivian groaned. "I'd really like to punch her in the face a few times or pop her boobs with a needle then no one would ever want to date her."

"Vivian, seriously? She doesn't have implants."

"I'd do it anyways."

Haley sighed in disbelief of her sister's strange determination to kill Alex off the planet.

"See you tomorrow, Haley," Jake stated, coming over to give her a hug.

Nathan locked the door and turned around to find Jake and Haley embracing each other. He cleared his throat at the sight and stepped down.

"Have a goodnight, Jake," she smiled and they parted.

"You too," he replied, walking towards his vehicle in the parking space across the street.

"Bye, PYT," Clay called out.

Haley furrowed her eyes at him with the phone still at her ear. "What?"

"Pretty Young Thing," he smirked.

"Ohh," she laughed. "You have a goodnight, Clay."

"Clay! He's there! Tell him I said hi!" Vivian begged. "Please! Please!"

"You should hear how desperate you sound right now."

"Just do it!"

She groaned. "Fine," she replied. "Clay!" she called out before he and Tim climbed into his car. "My sister wanted to say hi."

"Aw, well tell little Vivian I said hi back."

"Vivian, he said—"

"Little Vivian?" she cut in. "No, I'm not little."

"You should be thankful that he actually took the time to say hi back," Haley stated.

"I know, but Little Vivian? Really?"

"Viv, I have to get back home, so let's save this conversation another time."

"But really, Little—" Haley quickly hung up the phone before her sister could finish that sentence and stuffed it in her pocket.

"Congratulations on today," Nathan stated, stepping next to her with his car keys in hand.

She looked up at him. "For what?"

"For tolerating half an hour with Alex in the room. I didn't think you'd make it through."

She smiled and craned her neck out to find a cab. "Well I needed to change. I can't change if I don't take a step forward."

"I'm glad you actually listened to me."

"No matter how pompous you make yourself out to be and no matter how much I hate it, your words are probably what I need to hear at the moment."

"I'm impressed," he smiled.

"You should be," she replied. She stopped looking out the street and observed Nathan beside her. He should be walking to his Porsche by now, but instead he was looking out the street like she was. "What are you doing?" she questioned.

He glanced down at her. "I'm waiting for a cab to come pick you up," he answered.

"Why?"

"It's late and I'm not going to leave my only female employee here waiting for a cab."

Haley felt a sudden tingle in her chest at the thought of him doing something nice for her. "How sweet," she awed.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Don't think too much of it. I need all my employees at work tomorrow," he corrected. "I can't you have you raped and kidnapped."

She scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "What's the deal with you and work? Is running this café really that important to you?"

"Do I have to answer that question?"

She lifted an eyebrow. "What if I say yes?"

"I won't answer it."

"If I say no?"

"I obviously won't answer it."

"Then I guess my answer to your question is that it's up to you whether you want to answer it or not."

Nathan chuckled to himself and shook his head at her. "It looks like the cabs aren't getting anywhere close to this street," he stated, observing the bright lights at the end of the road.

Haley pouted. "They'll come eventually," she stated desperately.

Nathan sighed. "Come on," he stated, walking towards his Porsche.

"What?" she asked.

"I'll give you a ride home."

"I'll get a cab," she refused.

"Don't be an idiot. You'll be home faster if you just come with me. If you stay here and wait, it might take hours until the next cab comes by."

She glanced back towards the section with all the lights and sighed deeply. It was odd how this down town street was always busy during the day than it was during the night.

She sighed and turned to Nathan who was impatiently waiting for her to make a decision. "Fine," she answered, following him to his car.

**

* * *

**

Haley was busy playing a game on her phone to keep her occupied during the drive. It was weird for her to be sitting in a replica of the car she destroyed weeks ago. It was so nice inside. The leather was smooth. The stereo was legit. The windows were tinted. And the car smelled brand new. She couldn't believe that Nathan actually let her set foot inside of it at all.

Nathan glanced to his side for a second to observe Haley. Her head was down, totally focused on the game. She was making these little expressions every time she lost or failed to complete a level. She looked like a little girl. No wonder Julian thought she wasn't woman enough for him. But somehow Nathan didn't think it was such a bad quality to have.

Haley felt like she was being stared at, so she glanced up and met with his dark blue eyes. He quickly looked away and concentrated back on the road. Then a few seconds later, they both heard a ringing sound from his side of the car. Nathan noticed that it was his fuel tank. It was almost empty.

"I need to get more gas, do you mind if we stop at a gas station?" Nathan questioned.

"If we both want to get home, I think it's the best thing to do," she stated, returning to her phone.

Nathan rolled his eyes at her smart comment.

"NO!" she cried out.

He grew curious and glanced at her. "What?"

"I lost the whole game!" she whined.

He scoffed in disbelief as he focused back on the road and searched for the nearest convenient store.

"Don't cry about it," he ordered. "You can always start over."

She stopped pouting and glared at him.

Nathan turned left and parked at the gas station. He pulled out his wallet to check how much money he had and then climbed out without saying a word to Haley. She watched him as he entered the convenient store.

She sighed deeply and put her phone back into her pocket. Then she began looking around his car to see if there was anything interesting inside. There were a few CDs in the slot underneath the stereo. She grabbed two or three and examined the titles and artists. _Lil Wayne, Eminem, Nada surf._

"Hmm." She put the CD's back into place. After doing so, she found something sticking out from underneath the bottom CD. Haley glanced out the window to see if Nathan was coming out, but he was still waiting in line. So she slipped it out to see what it was. It was a photo of a family of three. There was a mother, a father, and a little boy. The mother was beautiful with her blonde wavy hair. She was dressed in a really nice and possibly expensive outfit with beautiful jewelry. The father was really handsome as he stood beside the woman in a striped suit and tie. Right in front of them, holding a certificate, was the little boy dressed in a nice white sweater with a collar and slacks. Haley figured it was Nathan. She recognized that half smile.

She glanced out her window when she noticed Nathan coming back. She quickly put the photo back inside the slot and pulled out her phone. Nathan watched as she scrambled around in her seat and furrowed his eyes.

"What is she doing now?" he questioned as he reached the car. She looked out the window and smiled at him. He just gave her a blank look and started preparing his gas tank.

After filling his tank with gas, he climbed back into his car. Haley didn't say anything to him as he buckled his seatbelt. She just sat there quietly, focusing on the screen of her phone.

"What were you doing earlier?" he questioned.

"Huh?" she replied.

"I saw you moving around, what were you doing?"

"Nothing," she answered, looking up. "I was just looking at your music collection."

He gave her a look of suspicion. He had a feeling that she did something wrong or was lying. So he glanced at the slot with the CDs and noticed that the picture of his family was out of place. It wasn't like that before.

"So you like Eminem, huh?" she smiled.

He ignored her question and pulled it out. "Were you looking at this?" he questioned.

Her eyes moved to the picture and pretended to be confused. "No," she lied. "I've never seen that picture in my life."

"Stop lying, Haley."

"What makes you think I saw that picture?" He didn't answer. She figured that it was pretty obvious so she gave in. "Fine, I was looking at it. What's the big deal? It's just a picture of you and your family." He sighed deeply in disbelief. "Why are you hiding it anyways?"

"You're really nosy aren't you?" he questioned.

"I'm just wondering. It's a beautiful photograph," she complimented.

Nathan observed it himself. It was the day he received his award for his straight A's all through middle school. It was one of the last times his parents ever thought he'd make it out there in the world. He had it in his car to remind him that he wanted to be that kid again. The kid who wanted to make his parents proud. After several years of goofing off in high school and acting like he owned the world because he was wealthy and intelligent, made his parents lose the support they once had for him. They didn't believe that he was serious about anything anymore. His ego blew up after middle school and he lost touch of what they once thought he was. He really didn't show it, but he was always disappointed in himself for failing to fulfill his parents' dreams. He wanted to gain that support back and prove that he can make it out there. Which is why he's trying his best to make the cafe successful.

He placed the picture in the pocket of the door and started the engine. Haley observed him as he zoned out in his own world and grew curious about the photograph. There was obviously something in that picture that made him act so touchy. She sighed deeply, leaned back against the seat, and looked out the window at the busy city streets.

After a long quiet drive, they finally made it in front of Haley's town house. She unbuckled her seatbelt and checked the time on her phone.

"Thanks for the ride," she stated as she reached out to open the door.

"You want to know why I have this picture?" he questioned, stopping her. She turned to him curiously.

"Sure," she answered.

"It's a reminder of who I used to be."

"A kid?"

He sighed deeply and shook his head. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I am," he began. She furrowed her eyes at him and listened carefully. "When I was younger, I was a pretty serious kid. I made all A's in school and I respected my parents. I was still stubborn and demanding back then, but when I got older, I changed. I thought I was the king of the world. Popularity got the best of me. I had money, smarts and the looks. I just didn't care about what I wanted for my future because I thought I had everything already. So I didn't try. I got the grades, graduated, went to college, graduated. And after that, I just . . . I didn't try to be anything." He stopped and placed his arm over the steering wheel. "I slacked off for five years. My parents lost respect for me. And now that I have the café, I want to gain their respect back. The picture helps motivate me to be that kid again."

Haley could see the vulnerability in his face. She couldn't believe he was actually being open about something to her. She wasn't the only one struggling to become something better. The stubborn, pompous jerk actually had a heart. And she sympathized with him.

"You can be that kid again," she stated. "Well an older version of him."

He lightly chuckled and stopped. "Who knows," he replied.

"I'll work hard for you. While you're helping me, I'll help you gain your parents' respect again," she suggested.

Nathan glanced at her. "Are we making another deal here?"

"No. No deal," she replied. "Everyone needs their family to support them, right? I'll just work harder so that the café can be successful."

He gave her a soft smile and sighed deeply. This was the first time they both actually had a real conversation about something. He leaned back against his seat and glanced past her where he saw someone peeking through the curtains.

"Well enough with this serious talk, your family is waiting for you," he stated.

Haley turned around where she found Vivian behind the curtains. She chuckled in disbelief and turned back to Nathan.

"Thanks again for the ride," she stated and opened the door of the car.

"I hope you're serious about working harder," he called out. "Just because I told you my little story doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you."

"I never thought that for a second. I know I still have a lot of work to do on my part."

"I'll see you at work then," he stated.

"You too." She waved goodbye and watched as he drove off. Then she turned around towards the door and patiently waited for Vivian to swing the door open. She figured she'd open it before she did especially since she was watching from inside.

Haley smiled when she did. "You didn't take a cab?" Vivian questioned.

"Nathan brought me home instead," Haley answered as she entered the house.

"Is he going to be bringing you home from now on?"

"No, he's not. The cabs just weren't cooperating with me."

"Right," Vivian replied. "So let's continue our conversation from earlier. What exactly did that slut say to him?"

Haley sighed and shut the door behind her.

**

* * *

**

"She invited you to go to the club today and you're not going?" Tim exclaimed as they played basketball out on Nathan's drive way with Clay on a Saturday afternoon.

"Why would I?" Nathan replied, shooting a ball.

"Because she's hot!" Clay retorted, catching the ball as it fell from the hoop.

"I still can't believe you're her type. I should've known," Tim stated, pouting on the side.

Nathan chuckled and battled over the ball with Clay. "Well she's not my type. You guys can go if you want to get free drinks," he stated.

"But she wanted _you_ to go. We won't get free drinks if you're not with us," Tim retorted.

"Just go, Nate. You don't even have to talk to her. I'll keep her busy," Clay smirked, making a lay up.

"You?" Tim complained. "I have better dance moves."

"The Carlton is not something you'd impress a girl with," Clay joked.

Nathan chuckled as he stole the basketball and started dribbling it around the court. He didn't think it would be a bad idea to go out and get free drinks. But he was kind of worried about the consequences of going because of Alex. She was Haley's ex-best friend after all. Accepting the chance to hang out with her would cause Haley harm especially since she trusts him in some kind of way. In order to avoid any confrontation in the future about this, he thought that it could be another lesson in their little project by bringing her along.

"Let's invite the rest of the work crew," Nathan suggested.

"Jake and Haley?" Clay questioned.

"Yeah. I think it would be a cool idea to get together after working so hard at the café."

"Haley? Can she dance?"

"We'll just have to see," Nathan stated.

"I think she can dance. She looks pretty flexible," Clay commented.

Tim chuckled and stole the ball away from Nathan so that he could finally make a shot.

"What about Percy?" Tim laughed. "He'd be fun to dance with."

"Yeah you would enjoy that," Nathan responded. "I'll go call Haley. One of you guys call Jake."

He walked up his patio and went inside his bachelor pad. He left his phone on the kitchen counter so he went to get it. Good thing it was inside because he didn't want to talk about the woman project in front of the guys.

He dialed her number and waited patiently for her to answer.

"Hello?" she greeted.

"Hey, do you have any plans tonight?" Nathan quickly asked, getting straight to the point.

"Nothing as of right now unless my mom needs me to work on a couple of dresses," she replied.

"Well we're having a get-together tonight with the work crew."

"Really? And you're inviting me to this all boys event?"

"You're not interested?"

Haley took a moment to think. She was sitting in her room flipping through the channels but couldn't find anything to watch because it was all sappy love stories. And she wasn't really in the mood to watch any of it.

"I didn't say I wasn't interested. I was just concerned because I'm going to be the only girl, "she stated.

"Don't worry about that," he advised.

"Where will this get-together be located?"

"Club Infinity."

"A club? Are you joking?"

"No. It'll give you a chance to actually wear something decent for once."

"Is this another lesson?

"Maybe. So are you accepting this offer?"

She sighed deeply and put a chocolate kiss in her mouth. "I don't know yet. I'm not the clubby type. But you said everyone from work is going?"

"Mmm hmm. It will be Clay, Tim, me and Jake if he decides to go."

"I guess I can," she answered. "But one question, how will this help me evolve as a woman?"

"It'll help you forget about all the mess in your life. Because I have a feeling that you haven't been having a lot of fun lately."

She groaned as she looked at what she was doing at the moment. She was sulking in bed watching TV with a bag of chocolates beside her. It's practically what she's been doing on her spare time since the break up.

"Fine."

"Alright," Nathan responded. "But you're only allowed one to two drinks. I don't want to have to suffer through another drunken night with you."

"Trust me; I will stay far away from the alcohol."

"Great. See you tonight."

"Wait!" He stopped himself before pressing the end button and put the phone back to his hear. "What exactly should I wear?"

"I'm a guy. I'm not your stylist."

"But you know what you like to see a girl wear to these kinds of events. Skirts? Shorts? Dresses? Heels?"

Nathan shook his head in disbelief. He craned his neck to see if anyone was coming inside and he sighed.

"I'm not one of your gay guy friends, Haley. Just wear something comfortable but different from your usual attire."

"Like what?"

He groaned, growing frustrated by her. Then he remembered her outfit the day she got wasted. He thought she looked really pretty that night except the fact that she was drunk off her ass.

"Wear what you wore that night at the art gallery," he stated.

"But isn't that too elegant for the club?"

"I don't think it matters. Just wear something similar to that, okay?"

"Fine. I'll try my best."

**

* * *

**

Haley and Vivian went on a tiny shopping spree later that day with the hundred bucks their mom let them have. Luckily, Lydia was supportive enough to let Haley go out and have fun for once. She's been suffering too much from the break up. Haley really needed to enjoy life instead of moping around and thinking about what could've been.

One of the greatest qualities Haley loved about her little sister was her love for fashion. She always dressed cute outside of school and in school with all her extra accessories. Haley just never thought about fashion as something essential in one's life. It was just clothes. As long as she was covered up in the right places, she was fine. But seeing that it was one of the issues that separated her from the rest of the other women in the world, she needed to fix that. If she didn't have her sister, she would be having a very hard time trying to figure what to wear for tonight's events.

"Here," Vivian stated, handing Haley a bracelet. "This matches your outfit."

"Thanks, Viv." Haley turned to the mirror as she fixed her red one-shoulder dress with a lace hemming. It ended on her midthigh and she matched it with a pair of nude heels to let her legs appear longer.

"Aren't you glad you have me as your personal stylist?" Vivian asked as she adjusted the hem.

"Very glad," Haley answered as she tossed her curly locks behind her.

"If only you dressed pretty all the time then I wouldn't have to do this for you," she griped. "It's not easy having an older sister who can't dress herself."

"To save you from embarrassment, I'll try to wear something cute from now on."

"I'm not so sure you can even do that."

"Practice makes perfect, right?" Haley stated. Vivian rolled her eyes. "Hand me my clutch."

Vivian grabbed it from her bed and gave it to her. Then she watched as Haley unconsciously observed herself in front of the mirror. It was like she couldn't recognize the person in front of her –like it was someone completely different.

"This isn't too much is it?" Haley questioned, noticing how the dress really hugged her curves. "Because I feel like it's too much."

"You're going to one of the most popular clubs in the city with a bunch of guys. You have to look hot!"

"What if I don't want to look '_hot_'," she replied, pouting at her reflection.

"Then you should just stay home," Vivian advised.

"Thanks for the support, sis," Haley groaned, stepping away from the mirror.

"Are you going to use mom's car?"

"No, I'll take a cab."

Vivian stepped in front of the mirror and started playing with her long luscious hair. "I'm really jealous and surprised that you're actually going out clubbing. I would've never thought I'd see the day. And with a bunch of hot guys for that matter."

"I went a few times with Alex."

"But you always came home early. That's not clubbing."

"It's because I wanted to come home and spend time with-" Haley stopped herself before she could complete that sentence. She was going to say Julian because she spent most of her time with him for the past two years instead of going out. She had no reason to go to a club because to Haley it was a way to meet new people. Haley already had that special person. She'd go to work, spend time with her family and sometimes Alex, and when Julian came home from work she would spend time with him. That's just how it was. And now that extra free time she had was spent at home without that significant other. She was empty.

Vivian noticed that her older sister stopped talking. She figured it was about Julian. She sighed and turned away from the mirror. Then she walked up to Haley.

"Just have fun, sis," she advised. "You need it more than anyone in this world right now."

Haley smiled at the kindness Vivian was showing her and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Thank you."

Vivian pulled apart from their embrace, weirded out from the sudden touchy sisterly love and said, "Now go and make sure Clay doesn't talk to any other girls."

"Um, you two aren't even dating."

"That's why you should keep him from dating anyone else, k?"

Haley rolled her eyes at her sister in amusement. "I'll see you later."

**

* * *

**

Club Infinity was one of the most popular and newest establishments in Tree Hill City's night life. The place was advertised every where like the magazines and internet gossip columns. It was chic and modern. The DJ's were legit and always had the latest music. Even the under aged kiddos have been trying to sneak in to see what the place was all about. Nathan never thought about checking the place out because he usually spent more time chilling and partying it up out of state than in state. And it was interesting how Alex had connections to one of the guys who worked there.

When all the guys arrived in front of the club, they noticed that the line was pretty long. They didn't see Alex yet nor did they see Haley. They were supposed to be meet up at ten, but it was already eleven and she still hadn't showed up. But the guys looked extra attractive standing together like the flower four. Nathan wore a grayish button up shirt and jeans. Clay wore a blue polo. Tim wore a white graphic tee with a black jacket and Jake wore a black shirt with a gray vest. All the girls standing in line and arriving were eying them like they were the club's models or something.

A group of girls even approached them with huge eyes and smiles. "Are you the guys who work at Chivalry Café?"

They all turned to them and nodded. "Yeah," Nathan answered.

"Are you guys coming inside?"

"Yeah, we're just waiting for a friend."

"Really? Well then I guess we'll see you on the dance floor," the supposed leader of the group of four responded.

"Alright," Nathan smiled as the girl giggled on their way into the club.

Tim quickly stepped next to Nathan and grabbed his elbow. "Can we go inside now? The females are waiting for us as you can see!"

"We can't leave Haley behind," Jake stated. "We have to go in together since we're here as a group."

Nathan glanced at Jake who looked really annoyed. He was becoming really impatient for Haley's arrival. He was hoping she'd arrive soon, but she took up about an hour of his time already.

"Well you can wait for her, I need a drink," Nathan stated.

"YES!" Tim exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Jake questioned.

"She's late. I don't think I can stand another minute out here waiting for that girl," Nathan replied.

Jake shook his head in disappointment. "Whatever."

Clay noticed the tension between the two and couldn't quite decide on whether to stay outside with Jake or go inside with his best friends. Haley was a girl after all and she looked like she'd be lost in this type of atmosphere so he made his decision. "I'll stay here."

"Suit yourself," Nathan stated as he and Tim turned around where they noticed Alex squeezing through the door.

"You guys came!" she exclaimed.

Jake and Clay turned around at the familiar voice. Clay smiled, but Jake didn't. He remembered how uncomfortable Haley was when Alex showed up at the mall. They obviously had a past and it seemed like Nathan and the guys didn't really care that much about it.

_Haley was coming here, didn't they know that? Jake thought._

"Come on in!" Alex smiled, waving them inside.

"Those two will come in later," Tim stated.

"Alright, I'll make sure they get in." And all three of them disappeared inside the club.

"She's pretty," Clay commented as he turned away.

Jake chuckled dryly. "Isn't that kind of cruel?"

"What is? Alex being pretty?" Clay replied.

"No. Going here when she's around," Jake explained.

"How is that cruel?"

"Don't you remember how Haley acted at the mall? She said she had a bad past with Alex."

Clay thought for a second. "I guess. I really don't want Haley to feel uncomfortable."

"Then what are we doing here?" Jake asked.

"To have fun?"

"I don't think Haley's going to have fun. Whatever happened between those two, I don't think a club will ease the tension between them."

Clay observed the seriousness in Jake's face. He was really being overprotective over Haley. What was even more surprising was the fact that Jake didn't even care if Alex was hot or not. Unlike him and Tim, Jake wasn't casted under Alex's spell.

"You're really loyal to Haley, aren't you?" Clay questioned.

He nodded and thought about their high school days. "That's what friendship is all about," he stated.

"Yeah," Clay agreed.

As they waited a few more minutes for Haley, they saw a cab arrive at the curb next to them. The door opened and they watched as a leg stepped out. Then another one appeared and then a familiar woman came out. Their eyes widened at the maiden in the red dress. It was like they were seeing a completely different person right before their eyes.

Haley shut the door and awkwardly adjusted the hem of her dress that was rising up her legs. Then she glanced up and found her two employees looking at her in a way Julian looked at her right before they went out for dinner.

She shyly walked up to them and smiled. "Hi, I'm sorry I'm late," she apologized.

"Who are you?" Clay questioned, eyeing her up and down.

Haley looked at him confused. "I don't look familiar?" she replied.

"PYT is now an understatement," Clay smiled, grabbing her hand. "Twirl for me," he advised as she slowly twirled around awkwardly.

Jake just stood there in shock. Haley looked absolutely stunning in this attire. He had never seen Haley dress this way in all the times he's seen her. He always thought that she was gorgeous but seeing her finally flaunt it was breathtaking.

"You look beautiful," Jake complimented.

"Thanks," she answered shyly.

"Let's go inside. I can't wait to see how Tim reacts when he sees you," Clay exclaimed, hooking his arm with hers.

"We'll see," Haley answered. She looked over at Jake and offered her other arm for him. He kindly accepted it and all three entered with the bouncer allowing them to casually walk in.

It seemed like they were the VIPs of the club, walking in arm and arm. It made Haley kind of feel awkward and shy to receive so much attention. She had two handsome men on her arms, so it was mostly their fault for the spotlight.

Nathan and Tim were at the bar with Alex when they all noticed the trio through the crowd.

Tim's eyes widened as he spit the drink from his mouth, the liquid landing on Alex's light pink dress. Tim quickly apologized and handed her a few napkins. "I'm sorry," he apologized. Then turned back to the three walking towards them. "Is that who I think it is?"

Nathan furrowed his eyes as he slowly put his glass down on the bar. He thought he was seeing things. Was that the same girl who wore jumpers and knee high socks out in public? Her hair was down and he could actually see the shape of her body. Haley definitely didn't look like the Haley he knew before. He was impressed, but also kind of disappointed. He didn't know why he was because he was supposed to be thrilled to finally see her in a different type of clothing. Why he wasn't 100% satisfied with this?

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hello! All of you are so kind! I love love reading all your wonderful reviews. I will try my best to stay inspired to continue this story. That's what I'm hoping for. I will finish this story because if I didn't, I would be severely disappointed in myself for disappointing all of you. You all have taken the time of your day to spend it reading this story. And I'm very thankful for every minute that you do. You know what made me smile while reading some of your reviews? Your reactions. I love how you all enjoyed Tim spitting on Alex, Vivian's fierce attitude,Clay's friendship with Haley and Nathan's undecided satisfaction towards Haley's outfit. I really wanted to have those friendships/relationships in the story. You know showing different points of view of every guy in Haley's life. It's interesting, isn't it?

And to Christina who so kindly asked me to give an estimated time on when I will update I will give you my answer. :) So here's how I varied it. On average, I will probably update once a week on Fridays or Saturdays. But on good days,when I have nonstop inspiration, I will probably update twice or three days in a row. Or every other day. I can't really point out when. But I think on my next story or Steadfast,I will set a particular day on when I will update so you'll know when to catch it. :)

All of your words always encourage me. Don't be afraid to tell me your questions or tell me what you've analyzed in the chapters. I like those. Those keep me inspired and motivated to continue because I get to understand your view of the story and see how I can broaden your thoughts on it. :)

Well I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hopefully it will answer all of your questions and ease your stressful day.

Love

Annie

* * *

**Chapter 8**

As Haley approached Nathan and Tim at the bar, she noticed the familiar figure standing on the side wiping her dress with napkins. Her eyes widened, ignoring the expression planted across the men's faces, slipped her arms from Jake and Clays, and turned around slowly.

"Haley, where are you going?" Clay questioned as both he and Jake stopped to look at her.

"I suddenly have to use the lady's room," she answered hesitantly. "I'll be right back," she smiled, leaving the two quickly as she could before Alex could see her.

She scurried her way through the unfamiliar crowd, smelling the strong scent of perfumes and colognes, feeling the sweat rubbing on her skin, bodies grinding against hers, and heels and shoes stepping all over her feet. She couldn't believe how surprisingly crowded this club was. She thought it was going to be spacious with a nice ambience like it stated in the magazines. Unfortunately, the popularity and weekly promotion led to a compacted club of young folk.

"Why is she here?" she mumbled to herself, referring back to Alex. "Why?"

She glanced at the long line to what appeared to be the ladies room. There must've been some kind of party going on inside the bathroom. It wouldn't be a surprise to her if people were trying to get away from the sweaty mess surrounding her.

Haley wiped her brow and found an empty seat in the corner. She smiled happily and hurried over to sit down.

"Thank goodness," she sighed and placed her clutch on her lap. She couldn't show up here with Alex hanging around the people who invited her to come. Could it get anymore awkward than that? She already took her fiancé away from her, now she had to take her co-workers away too? _Bonkers! She's bonkers!_

"Is there a rainbow today? I just found the treasure I've been searching for!" Haley looked up and found a dark haired man in his thirties holding a glass of something blue. He was smirking at her with glazed eyes like he was planning different ways to cook her tonight for dinner. It was scary and awkward at the same time. She was alone. She had no protection. And she didn't bring anything to cover up her exposed parts. All she did was avoid his comment and look away like she never saw him. In addition, he used the cheesiest pick up line ever.

"Red looks good on you," he commented, leaning against the black painted metal pole.

"Thank you," she smiled shyly.

"Are you here alone?"

"Um," _Don't say yes. Don't say yes! _"No. My friends are at the bar."

"Oh I see," he nodded. "What about your boyfriend?"

"Hmm?"

"Boyfriend. You got one?"

"Umm," she responded. She began to feel the uncomfortable energy between them. This man looked like he could be her father for goodness' sakes. This was why she avoided clubs. The only reason she came was because she needed to change a little bit. People have been telling her that she needed to have some fun after all. But getting hit on by drunken men definitely wasn't fun.

"You're not even sure if you have a boyfriend or not?" he questioned.

Haley let out a nervous laugh and tightened her grip on her clutch. "Sir, I'm not available."

"Aww," he pouted. "Maybe if we talk a little bit more, you'll change your mind."

She began to feel uneasy at the sight of his feet stepping forwards towards her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Is this man bothering you?" Nathan asked, stepping out from the crowd.

Haley's face lit up at the sight of her boss. "Nathan," she smiled.

"And who are you?" the man questioned.

Nathan took a second to look at Haley and then back to the older guy. "I'm her boyfriend," Nathan lied. "So you should step away from her, okay?" Haley looked at him curiously as he walked towards her and held out his hand. "Come on, Haley."

"The little lady looked like she needed a friend."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that," he stated, motioning her to take his hand.

She stood up and hesitantly accepted it. He laced his fingers with hers and tightened it so they wouldn't get separated through the moving crowd. She was relieved that Nathan came to the rescue. She didn't know what she would've done if that man continued to make moves on her. As they squeezed through, Haley felt a sudden tickle in her chest. She wasn't quite sure if it was from the heat of the club, the embarrassment of getting hit on by a drunken old man, Nathan saving her, or from the way their fingers were interlaced together.

Ever since she fled the scene earlier, Nathan excused himself from the bar and followed her path to see where she was going. He knew that she didn't know this place that well or even knew it at all so he had to make sure she was safe. Clubs were one of the main places girls get hit on or assaulted. Especially when they wore tight and exposed clothing to the bars like Haley's outfit.

He led her out of the sweaty crowd and towards the other side of the bar. The rest of the gang was at the end near the entrance, so they were secure from being seen. And he released his grip from her hands.

"Why the hell did you walk off like that?" he questioned. "Are you trying to get yourself into trouble?"

She scoffed. "_You_ put me in this situation."

"I put you in this situation?" he repeated, confused.

"Yeah you," she answered. "Did you invite Alex to come to our get-to-together?"

"No. She actually invited us."

Her eyes widened. "And you accepted it?"

"She offered free drinks," he shrugged.

"_She offered free drinks_," she chuckled dryly. "Great, just great!"

He furrowed his eyes at her as she started panicking. "Hey," he began, holding her shoulders. "I thought I'd bring you here to show her that you were actually having a life. You can't show that to her if you disappear from her sight. She's going to think you're moping under a rock."

"Why do I have to prove anything to her? I hate her. She ruined my life. She should be the one begging me for forgiveness. I shouldn't be the one who has to run obstacles just to show her that I'm okay," she stated. "I asked you to help me, not to make me feel even more inferior than I already am."

Nathan sighed deeply as she looked down at her hands. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable with this unexpected surprise. He should've told her about Alex instead of keep quiet about the situation. He had to admit that she was right; she didn't have to prove anything to Alex. Haley just needed to learn how to forget. A sexy make over wasn't going to change anything.

As he was thinking of what to do next -whether to stay at the club or not- he looked past her shoulder and found Julian walking around with a drink in his hand. He groaned and returned his focus back to Haley.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked her.

She looked up. "I just got here," she answered.

"Did you like getting hit on like that?"

"No," she retorted. "Not at all."

"Well I'm pretty sure that's going to happen all night."

"I'll live with it, " she stated.

He groaned. "And then you're going to let me save you from all those creepy men?"

"No, I'll just walk away. Besides, I got all dressed up for this."

He nodded and observed her outfit again. "A little too dressed up. This isn't what I was talking about when I said to wear something similar to that other dress."

Haley looked at him puzzled. She smoothed her hands over the dress. "But isn't this woman enough?"

"It is, trust me. It's just. . . ," he stopped. She looked really stunning, but Nathan had this weird feeling inside that really wasn't satisfied with the look. Usually he'd go ballistic over a woman dressed in something as sexy as the dress Haley was in, but he didn't like it on her. "I don't think it suits you."

She took a second to soak in what he just said and let out a chuckle. "So you don't like it? I thought you wanted me to dress better. This is me dressing better."

"Exactly. Dress better, not slutty," he replied.

She scoffed and looked around her, observing all the tight skirted, cleavage exposed women on the dance floor. He's probably mentally drooling all over those girls wearing two inches of clothing right now, but when she's wearing something out of her comfort zone, it's not good enough?

"Wow," she gasped. "Why are all men so . . . ughh!" she groaned. "I'm just never going to be good enough, am I? A sexy dress isn't going to cut it." She looked at him one last before she turned around to leave.

Nathan closed his eyes in shame and followed her through the crowd. "Haley!" he called out.

From a far, Julian noticed her marching through the crowd in a shockingly tight red dress with Nathan following her from behind. He furrowed his eyes, wondering what they were doing here together and took a step forward to check what was going on. He sipped from his drink and continued watching them until they disappeared. Then he glanced over to the bar where he found Alex laughing with a couple of guys that worked from the café. She was wearing the same outfit she stole from the boutique. He shook his head in disappointment. It was odd seeing both of his exes at the same club, wearing outfits that shocked him completely. Not only that, they were both surrounded by other men. And that made his blood boil.

* * *

After a while of laughing with Clay and the guys at the bar, Alex decided to head to the lady's room. She told them that she'd return so she can dance with them, and so she hurried her way through the crowds. As she was on her way there, she heard her phone ringing in her clutch purse. So she stopped and pulled it out.

She scowled at the name blinking on the screen and rolled her eyes as she pressed the answer button. "What?" she questioned roughly.

"Wow. Not even a hello?" Julian replied.

Alex sighed deeply. "Julian, why are you calling me? I don't want to talk to you."

"See, that's what I don't understand. Why are you mad at me?"

"Because you didn't tell Haley about us when you were supposed to."

"That's not even a good reason. So what if I didn't tell her? We are both at fault here."

"It doesn't matter. I still don't want to talk to you," she replied. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten into this situation."

"What!" Julian questioned, watching her from a distance. He rolled his eyes at her response. "You're the one who put the moves on me first."

"No I didn't."

"Oh right," Julian replied dryly. "You're the one who started dancing on me that night and that makes it my fault."

"I was just having fun. You didn't have to fall for me."

"I couldn't help it," he replied.

Alex was taken back by that statement and she swallowed the lump in her throat. She still kind of had feeling for Julian, but she wasn't going to let that change her mind about him.

"Like I said, it was just for fun," she stated.

Julian nodded and slowly walked through the crowd towards her. "So are you saying the whole time we were together, it was just a joke?"

"Maybe," she answered, turning around and found him right in front of her.

"Well I believe you," he said, hanging up the phone.

She slowly hung up the phone as well and stuffed it in her purse. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking some time for myself, what else?" he answered. He observed her nice pink dress and smiled, thinking about that night he saw her steal it. "Nice outfit."

"Thanks," she replied, unenthused.

"Where'd you steal it from?" he asked.

Her eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

"Where'd you steal it?" he repeated.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I saw you, Alex. You ripped the tag off and stuffed it in your purse."

She squinted her eyes at him curiously and placed her hands on her hips. "How the hell did you know that? Were you stalking me!"

"I-I I was just passing by," he replied nervously.

"So you were stalking me!"

"No, I was just there to check on how you were doing."

"Right, you're a stalker."

"And you're a thief!" he retorted. She gasped and quickly hit him with her purse. "Ow!"

"You better not tell anyone about this," she ordered through her teeth.

"You're manager will find out eventually. Don't they have surveillance cameras?"

"Yes, but it will only show me fixing up dresses because that's what it looked like I was doing."

"Why'd did you steal it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because you used to tell me everything."

"Well not anymore because we're not together," she replied. "I have to go now."

She was about to walk off until Haley randomly showed up from the crowds. Alex looked at her up and down, stunned by the sight of her outfit and hair. "Haley?"

Haley didn't realize it was Alex and Julian until she turned to them. Her eyes widened.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked.

"Uh I'm -," she began. She glanced at Julian, the man she once had and strangely still loved, and then back to Alex. What were they doing here together? Weren't they broken up? Haley swallowed the lump in her throat to keep her from panicking, and tried to answer. "I-I came to dance."

Alex lifted an eyebrow and laughed in amusement. "You came here to dance? You don't dance. And for the whole time that I've known you, you've always hated the clubs."

"Well things change," Haley answered.

"Right," Alex nodded, unconvinced. "Go ahead and make a fool of yourself."

Julian shook his head at the Alex's rudeness and glanced at Haley. She looked absolutely stunning. He had never seen her look this good in a long time. He was impressed.

"Hey," he greeted. Haley glanced at him and looked away. "Can we talk?"

"I don't feel like talking to you," she replied.

"Haley, please," he begged. "Let's go somewhere to talk."

"If you want to talk to me, talk to me here."

Alex lifted an eyebrow as she stood there; waiting patiently to hear what he had to say.

"I'd rather go somewhere else," Julian stated.

"It's either here or not at all," Haley demanded.

"Just please," he begged again.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Fine, if you just want me to leave, I'll leave. Go ahead and talk to your pitiful ex," she groaned, marching right past them towards the lady's room where she was originally headed.

Julian took a moment to process his thoughts and stepped forward to catch Haley's attention.

"What are you doing here Haley? You never come to these kinds of places," he began.

"Is it really that surprising to see me here?"

Julian smiled. "Yeah, actually it is. You don't belong here."

She rolled her eyes and turned to the side. She hated how everyone was surprised to see her at the club. Of course, she wasn't the type who would spend her leisure time there, but them being shocked made her feel stupid. Almost childish – like she wasn't mature enough to be in an atmosphere like this.

"I wanted to go," she stated.

He didn't believe her. "Is it because of me? Did you come here because of me? To show me that you can be mature like Alex?"

She furrowed her eyes at him in disbelief. "Don't be ridiculous! I don't want to be anything like Alex," she stated. "And no I didn't come here for you. I came here for me. Not for you, Julian," she added. "Because you mean nothing to me."

"Haley, you think I believe that?" he questioned her. "We dated for two years. I don't think I mean nothing to you."

Haley looked at him, forcing the tears from appearing, and tightened her jaw. "Well it's true."

Nathan pushed through the crowds and found Haley and Julian talking to each other near one of the poles. He slowly walked closer and craned his neck to see the expressions on their faces.

"Look, you don't have to go to these lengths to prove anything to me, okay? You don't have to come here and dress like this to show me that you're fine. I know it's not easy to forget about me after all these years. I know you," he stated.

She scoffed in disbelief. "I told you that I am done."

"Haley, stop lying to yourself," he stated.

Nathan observed Haley's expression. It was obvious that she was trying to fight away the truth. She was right. Acting like she didn't care was a big task for her. Julian pressuring her into admitting her weakness definitely wasn't helping her strength and confidence at all. He made her feel inferior and intimidated. Nathan couldn't let that continue.

"I know that you're suffering from this break up but you don't have to-"

"Hey!" Nathan called out, cutting Julian off.

Both of them turned to the raven-haired man as he stepped in between the two exes. "What do you want?" Julian questioned roughly.

"I need you to leave the girl alone," Nathan demanded.

Julian chuckled. "Why? Are you her body guard or something?"

"No, I'm her friend."

"I thought you were her boss."

"So? That doesn't mean I can't be her friend," Nathan stated. "She said that she's over you. So you should accept that."

"You're not really over me, are you Hales?" Julian questioned, looking at her from behind Nathan.

Nathan glanced behind him to hear what she had to say. She looked up at him and remembered what he said before. First step was to get over her heart ache. And this was her chance. Even if it was hard, she had to let go of the person who hurt her the most.

"Yeah, I'm done," she answered.

"Haley," Julian began.

"What else am I supposed to do? Keep loving you after you brutally crushed my heart?" she questioned. "No! I will not do that to myself. I can't love someone who doesn't love me back. I am completely done with you. If you ever try to talk to me again or make me feel stupid, I will . . . "She took a second to breathe and continued. "I will kill you."

Julian's eyes widened at her last words. It knocked the breath out of him. To see the girl he once loved and adored and even wanted to marry threaten him was the last thing he ever wanted to happen. It was unbelievable how his own mistakes can damage such a fragile and precious soul like hers.

Nathan saw the pain in Julian's expression. He wanted to feel sorry for the guy, but he deserved it. It was probably the most impressive thing Haley's done since they've met. She stood up to the guy that made her into such a huge mess. It wasn't fair for her to suffer because of his selfishness. He needed to learn his lesson and figure out what he really needed to fix. And Nathan was glad that Haley was able to make him feel guilty for her agony.

"You heard her. She doesn't want you anymore," Nathan stated as he turned around. "Come on, Haley," he said as he reached out to grab her hand and he led her out of the crowded area. Julian just stood there in distraught as he watched the two leave out of his sight.

Jake wiped his mouth after drinking from his glass and watched as Nathan and Haley walked out together. He grew curious and moved his eyes to the guy they were talking to. From the way he stood there with his head hanging down, he figured that he wasn't exactly happy.

"Where did everyone go?" Tim questioned, taking a sip from his beer bottle.

"I just saw Haley and Nathan walk out together," Jake stated, returning to the bar.

"What?" Tim responded. "Why would they just walk out? We just got here."

Jake rolled his eyes and downed his glass. "Who knows?" he answered.

Clay smirked and lightly waved at the group of girls they saw at outside the club. "Well until they return, I'm going to join some lucky ladies on the dance floor. See ya!" he stated, climbing off his stool to meet up with them.

Tim glanced at the girls practically begging him to dance and then turned to Jake who he didn't really think much of. It was either stay here and linger with Mr. Jagielski and sulk together or shake his booty with the rest of the club.

"I'm coming with!" Tim called out, leaving Jake sitting there by himself.

Jake didn't really mind. He only came because Haley was coming. He figured she probably needed a friend. But it looked like she already had one.

"Jake!" Clay called out. "A pretty blonde said she wants to dance with you!"

Jake raised an eyebrow and looked at the girl Clay was hugging to his side. She was pretty and cute. Since he was lonely, he might as well be a gentleman and dance with the girl. So he did.

* * *

Haley paced around the patio area at the club and pinched her nose to keep her from inhaling the smoke that was surrounding her. After she spotted an available place to sit, she hurried away from the cigarette smokers and sat herself down.

Nathan nodded at the random people and followed her. He sighed deeply as he settled himself beside her.

"I originally didn't want to come here because I didn't want to be involved in any of your drama," Nathan stated. "But oddly, I went for the kill."

She sulked and leaned back against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. "You're now a prime subject between all three of us," she replied.

Nathan groaned at the thought of that. "You're bad luck, you know that?" he questioned. "Thanks to you, I'm now Alex's new love interest and Julian's arch enemy."

"Welcome to my life," she responded.

"Your life sucks," he laughed.

She closed her eyes at the truth in those words. "Don't remind me," she ordered. "I just want to forget it all."

"You think you can do that?"

Haley opened her eyes and looked down at her left hand where she once wore an engagement ring.

"I hope so," she stated.

Nathan glanced at her movements and looked at her hand as well. It was empty just like she was. He could feel the pain she was feeling. The want. The mistakes. The regret. He didn't know what it was like to be stabbed in the back by the person he loved, but he understood the want for someone's affection and support. It's not the same thing, but he put it up on the same level as his own suffering.

"Look, I know I haven't been the kindest person in the world to you, but I believe that you can move on from this," he advised, giving her a comforting smile. "It will eventually go away. It might take some time to heal the wound they created. You just need to be distracted with something else. That's why I'm here to help."

She stopped playing with her naked ring finger and connected her eyes with him. For the first time since their first meeting, Haley actually felt like she could truly trust Nathan. He wasn't being mean for once. He wasn't bossing her around or telling her to suck it up. He was being kind to her. He was being supportive and sincere. Unlike Julian, she believed his words. And that caused her to smile.

"Thank you, Nathan," she stated.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, looking away from her. He didn't want to sound too sappy.

"For a jackass, you're actually pretty nice," she joked.

He quickly glared at her for the jackass comment. "So are we going back in there or head home?"

"Uh," she began to think. "After seeing Tim spit his drink all over Alex, I'm thinking about staying for at least another hour to see if he does it again."

He chuckled. "Tim was pretty shocked to see you," Nathan stated.

"Tell me about it. Put a girl in a tight dress and any guy will go ballistic," she replied. "Well except you."

Nathan drew out a deep say and sneakily took another glance to check her out. He had to admit that she really looked sexy, but a bit too sexy. "Modesty," he stated.

"What?"

"Stay modest," Nathan advised. "That suits you well."

"First you criticize me for being a victim of the fashion police and tell me to dress better. Now that I dress sexier, you want me to go back to my modest look? You're so confusing, Nathan Scott."

"I think you look better when you're not showing off too much," he admitted. Haley quickly lifted her eyebrows at that comment. "Guys really want the girls who don't expose their sensuality to the world. We like to discover it ourselves. We want to be the only person who knows what's sexy about a girl. When the girl's already showing it off to everyone, it's no longer fun."

She took that advice to heart. It was really interesting to hear those words come from his mouth. Haley really liked that Nathan was telling her these things. It was all helping her out as a person. Knowing the real details in a guy's mind and understanding the truth in her was inspirational. Nathan was more than she thought he was. He was a really good mentor. And she was really glad that he came around at this time in her life.

"Since we're talking about being modest here, does that mean I don't have to bump and grind on the dance floor?" she questioned.

Nathan scrunched his face at her question and chuckled. "I think you should sit on the sidelines if you want to save yourself from embarrassment," he mocked.

"I can dance!" she snapped.

"Then show me a move," he suggested.

"Uhh," she began. "I'd rather not."

"It sucks that bad, huh?"

"No!"

"Then why don't you show me?"

"Because it's too legit to show through sneak peeks," she lied.

"Right," he said slowly. "That's really clever."

"It's true!"

"Then do it."

"I'll save it for the dance floor," she stated, standing up from her seat.

He shook his head, amused by her. "That better not be a lie," he responded as they both headed back inside the club.

* * *

After returning to the bar and showing Nathan her dance skills, he immediately advised her to sit back down at the bar to save her from further embarrassment. And she was glad that he did. She wasn't that good of a dancer in the first place. So she let the guys take the role of the mediocre dancer instead especially Tim who was bumping and grinding on every female organ possible.

Alex was still lingering around, desperately clinging to the guys like a leach. Julian was minding his own business with a couple of his friends on the far side of the club. But a few times he'd glance their way to see what was going on. He wasn't surprised to see Alex dancing on other guys, but he was surprised to see that Haley actually looked happy.

Within in the next two hours, Clay pulled Haley in a few times to dance with him. She stepped side to side and he'd bend her backwards or twirl her around. Tim, on the other hand, got drunker and drunker. It was possible that he'd drop any second. And Haley kind of felt bad for him.

As Haley was walking back to her seat where Nathan and Jake were casually hanging out, she felt Tim lean back against her. She quickly turned around to hold him up and observed his face to see if he was still conscious.

"Are you okay?" Haley asked, struggling to keep him on his feet.

Nathan and Jake looked over their shoulders to examine what was going on.

Tim moved his head up and found Haley looking down at him. He smiled happily and said, "You look pretty," he stated.

Haley let out a nervous laugh. "Thank you," she replied.

"Reckless girl is really pretty!" he repeated. "Why don't you dress like this all the time!" he questioned, slurring his words.

"I don't know," she answered, adjusting him. "Let me get you on a chair." She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dragged him to the seat in between Jake and Nathan.

"Hey buddy," Nathan greeted, patting Tim on the back.

"I like her," Tim stated, pointing at Haley as she removed his arm from around her. "I don't care if you don't like her, Nate. I like her!" he sang.

"You're making confessions again, Tim," Nathan stated, amused by his best friend's drunken self.

"I am?"

Nathan nodded, looking at him like a little boy.

"Oh wells!" he snapped, gleefully.

"Alright. You go do your thing," Nathan advised, turning back to his drink.

"You're really pretty!" Tim repeated as Haley just stood there, keeping him from leaning to the side.

Jake just watched from the side, laughing inside at Tim actually being sincere to Haley for the first time since they've been working together. Tim always mocked and criticized Haley, but it was obvious now that he's been keeping his true feeling locked inside. The funny part was that he'd probably wake up in the morning with no memory of tonight and go to work acting like Haley was the scum of the earth.

As Haley pushed back Tim towards the bar, he surprisingly grabbed her face and planted a wet kiss on her lips.

Nathan's eyes immediately widened at the sight of the two smooching in front of him. He felt a little uneasy with the vision of their lips touching. Haley quickly pushed Tim off her and wiped the slobber off her mouth in disgust. It was obvious that it was a meaningless kiss, but somehow he didn't Nathan wasn't amused by it.

Jake felt the same exact way, but really didn't think much about it. He was used to Haley getting hit on from other guys. He lived with it since his high school days. There wasn't much difference now. But the kiss definitely shocked the poop out Julian as he observed them from his side of the club. He had this sudden urge to punch the living daylights out of Tim, but he didn't want to interfere with her business especially when Haley didn't want anything to do with him.

Haley scrunched her face up at the sudden kiss and tried her best to remove the feeling from her lips. His alcoholic breath was definitely not a turn on. The fact that it was a sloppy smack was even worse.

"Nathan. Here." She pushed Tim's sluggish body towards him and took a step back. "I think I had enough affection for tonight," she stated.

"I think this calls it a night then" he stated.

"I agree," Haley nodded, still grossed out.

"Me dos," Jake stated.

"I'll call you ladies later," Clay yelled out as he approached the gang at the bar. The girls all giggled as they continued dancing their life away. Clay smiled happily at the sight and turned towards the crew. "I'm pooped, how about you guys?"

"I think Tim is ready for another dance," Nathan laughed, lightly patting Tim on the cheek.

Clay furrowed his eyes at the sleeping Tim and shook his head. "He's a goner."

"That's why we're all heading home," Haley stated.

"That's fine with me," Clay replied. He stepped next to Haley, noticed her expression and wrapped an arm around her. "What's wrong with you? You look freaked out?"

"Tim decided to kiss me," she replied.

"What!" Clay laughed.

"That's exactly what I was thinking when it happened," Nathan stated, trying his best to burn the image out of his head.

"Oh well, "Clay shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't have resisted either. Look at this woman! Unbelievable, right?"

Haley smiled bashfully.

Alex stopped dancing in the middle of the dance floor when she noticed Haley at the bar with the guys. At first it was her hanging around them, but then it switched gears. She glared at the group and watched as they all started to move out of the bar. When she noticed that they were heading out, she quickly walked towards them.

"Hey! Are you all leaving?" she questioned.

They all turned around. "Tim's passed out and I think everyone's tired," Nathan stated.

"Aw, seriously? We didn't get a chance to dance, Nathan," Alex pouted.

Haley's jaw tightened and rolled her eyes.

"Maybe another time," he stated.

"Next week?"

"I have to figure out my schedule."

"Okay."

"We'll see you later."

"You better bet on it," she smiled seductively. Alex turned around and started strutting back to the dance floor with her heels.

"Can she get any hotter?" Clay commented.

"Let's just get going," Nathan stated, holding one of Tim's arm over his shoulder while Jake had the other.

Once they all made their way outside, Nathan noticed Clay fixing the loose hair from Haley's face. He readjusted Tim on his shoulder and observed the two as they laughed together. He couldn't describe it, but he was feeling a bit uneasy with her being around other guys.

Jake fixed Tim's arm and glanced at Nathan's distant expression. He grew curious and turned away to see what he was focusing on. It was Clay and Haley. It was obvious that Nathan was beginning to feel something for her. The way he looked at her was softer than before.

* * *

Nathan woke up the next morning, pacing around his kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand. The whole time he was lying in bed last night, he kept thinking about why he suddenly felt this urge to protect Haley every time he saw her with another guy. The minute he saw Tim kiss her, he wanted to punch him in the face to keep him from even doing it again. Good thing Tim wasn't going to remember one minute of the events of last night. And then seeing her dance with Clay and enjoying herself with him just made him want to be the guy who made her smile like that. He couldn't quite understand it or want to admit what was really going on.

Sipping from his mug, Nathan heard groaning noises from the couch. He turned around walked towards it where an aching Tim was moving around under the blanket.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Nathan greeted loudly.

Tim winced at the sound of his best friend's voice and clasped the sides of his skull. It was throbbing like crazy. It almost felt like he was beaten with a hammer a thousand times.

"Don't. Do. That!" Tim complained, slowly sitting up on the couch.

"If you didn't drink so much last night, you wouldn't be hurting like this."

Tim groaned and squinted his eyes at Nathan by the sunlit window. "Did I really drink that much?"

"More than the usual."

"Damn it," Tim sighed. "How many times did I do the Carlton?"

"More than the usual," Nathan repeated.

"Damn it," he stated, wincing again at the pounding at his temples. "What else did I do last night?"

Nathan took a second to think. The vision of Tim kissing Haley was still very vivid in his mind. He wished it would just burn away from his brain, but he was right there when it happened. He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned away to keep himself from being frustrated at the image.

"Nothing you want to know," he mumbled.

"Huh?" Tim questioned, confused. "What did I do?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Do I want to know?"

Nathan put his mug down and folded his arms across his chest. "Let me ask you one question," he began. "How much do you like Haley?"

Tim furrowed his eyes. "I-I don't."

"Your little smooch last night said otherwise," Nathan finished.

His best friend's eyes widened and scowled at the thought. He didn't even know what got over him or what even made him do such a thing. Kissing Haley didn't even come to mind. Ever. It had to be the way she dressed last night. It just had to be.

"You're joking, right?" Tim laughed.

"Nope."

"You know how I don't like her."

"Just keep telling yourself that," Nathan stated, walking towards the living space. He picked up the remote and flopped on the sofa adjacent to the one Tim was on.

"What about you!" Tim retorted.

"What about me?" Nathan answered, flipping through the channels.

"You act like you don't like her, but you keep hanging around her like you're buddies. Why is that?"

Nathan removed his focus from the television and thought about what he said. The only reason why he was spending so much time with Haley was because of their deal. He was helping her look past all the heartache and grow from it. That was all. It wasn't more than that. _Or was it?_

"Go back to sleep, Tim," Nathan ordered, returning to the TV.

"You're lucky my head hurts or I would be annoying you to answer my question," he replied, slowly leaning back against the pillow.

Nathan chuckled and shook his head.

* * *

"I'm surprised Nathan didn't have to bring you home last night," Vivian stated at the Haley's door frame. "Or this morning," she added.

Haley opened her eyes and observed her sister eating a croissant. She removed her hair from her face so she could see better and sat up on her bed.

"He didn't have to," Haley replied. "I took a taxi."

"Why didn't he bring you home?"

"Because he had other priorities to take care of," Haley answered remembering the sloppy drunk named Tim.

"What about the other guys?"

"I know you could care less what Jake and Tim were doing. So just ask me what Clay was doing," Haley stated, climbing out of bed. She slipped into her pair of fluffy shoes and walked past her at the door way.

"Okay then. What did Clay do the whole time?" Vivian questioned following her to the bathroom.

"He danced with girls all night," Haley answered bluntly, turning the lights on and grabbing her brush from the plastic cup beside the sink.

Vivian's eyes widened but tried to act like it didn't hurt her. "Oh that's great!" she exclaimed dryly.

Haley glanced over her shoulder as she prepared her tooth brush. "You know Viv, you should stop crushing over him. He's not good enough for you. Do you really want a guy who drools over every girl he sees?"

"Haley, he's gorgeous!" Vivian whined.

"That doesn't mean anything. A guy could be drop dead gorgeous but he'd have a brain the size of a peanut. Would you really want that?"

"Yeah," her sister answered without thinking.

Haley gave her a blank stare. Her little sister was definitely the definition of shallow. It's all about the looks with her. She should depend less on looks and depend more on personality.

"What about Anthony, he's a cool guy," Haley advised, ignoring her sister's naïve answer.

"Anthony? Ew. He's sweet and all, but he is not my type."

"You'll never know unless you actually try."

"I already have someone in mind and it's Clay."

"He's too old for you, Viv."

"So, I heard older men were dating youngsters these days."

"That's because they are pedophiles," Haley stated as she began brushing her teeth.

Vivian groaned and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I don't care what mom and you say. I'm going to like him whether you like it or not."

Haley sighed deeply as she watched her sister march out of her room.

She wanted her sister to listen to her. Hasn't she learned from her Haley's struggles already? She dated a man who was interested in another woman. She never got the warning before it all happened. Vivian had that warning and she wasn't taking it to heart. Clay was a nice guy, but he was a big flirt and he was older than her. Her little sister was going to be hurt. Haley knew that for a fact. But since Vivian was still so young, she didn't understand. She needs to figure out that she is worth more than that and that there is someone better for her. Same with Haley.

At first Haley thought Julian was the one, but now she realized that there was someone out there who was a hundred times better than him. It was going to be tough forgetting about Julian. They dated for two years after all. They had a lot of memories together. But she wasn't going to settle and reminisce over what they once had. The decision was made. He didn't want her and now she didn't want him. Never again was she going to stay with a man who couldn't give her his all. Never again. Thanks to Nathan, she was able to realize that.

After last night, it seemed like their friendship grew a little bit. Haley found herself liking him as a person rather than the jerk she once thought he was. There was actually a soft side to Mr. Scott. She wasn't going to expect them to be all buddy-buddy when they got back to work, but it was going to be different. With him being supportive and caring towards her, she had a good feeling that he was going to be just that – caring and supportive. Hopefully her instincts were right.

* * *

**What do you think? You like? Keep me inspired!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi everyone! I finally have chapter 9 ready for you all to read! I'm sorry it took more than two weeks to actually update. I hope I'm forgiven. If you haven't read it or seen it,but I also posted up a new one-shot called "Warm Me Up and Breathe Me". If you want to,you can check that one out. Anyways, thank you all for all the supportive and wonderful words that you have given. Again, I am very blessed with all the compliments. They really inspire me. I hope you really enjoy this chapter. I think this will be a 20 chapter story, so you can understand how long it will be. :) Oh and thank you Gottaluvnaley for the birthday greeting. I'm not sure if any of the comments on the "author's note" chapter will still be visible. But thank you again! It was a great one!**

**love**

**Annie.**

**p.s. KATE**, **my filipino friend ****, where are you? I miss you and your reviews! :(**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Nathan settled himself into his seat in his little office on the second floor of the café and observed all the sales over the past several weeks. Their business had been a little less than average lately. If he wanted to succeed as a businessman under his parents' eyes, he needed to try harder. He couldn't settle for ordinary.

It had been about a week since the club night. Tim was acting his typical self around Haley. He was rude, snobbish, and awkward. He didn't want to believe that he actually kissed her, but everyone at the café, excluding Percy, knew what really happened. So to clarify his feelings, he acted like he didn't do it on purpose. No matter how hard he was trying to show it, no one believed him.

Nathan sat back in his seat and began thinking of what to do to increase the sales. They already had attractive service which already gave them a lot of customers, but the crowd was slowly dying down. He needed something that would give the café a big name in the community. He wanted it to be a memorable place.

As he was thinking, he glanced out his window and found Haley climbing out of a taxi. He watched her carefully as she closed the door behind her and pulled her wavy hair up in a bun. For the past couple of days, she's been looking prettier and prettier to him. He wasn't sure why, but after seeing her at the club, he realized that he liked her so much better when she wasn't dressed in impressive clothing. It's fine to be dolled-up for special events, but he rather see her wearing the café uniform.

As Haley walked inside the café full of the already hard-working staff, she spotted Tim. He glanced at her once and quickly ran off to the corner of the room. She smiled to herself and she shook her head. Then she walked towards the counter where Percy was brewing coffee and grabbed her apron.

"Good afternoon, Percy," she greeted.

"Good afternoon, sweet heart," he replied, pouring a pot of boiled water into a mug.

Haley smiled and grabbed her usual essentials to start working with.

"I've been meaning to ask you this," Percy began. She looked up with questioning eyes.

"Yes?"

"Why is Tim acting so strange around you? It's like you're the devil or something."

She let lout a small laugh and glanced at Tim who was taking an order by the window. She had already gotten over the drunk kiss because it didn't mean anything to her. It actually made her kind of relieved to know that Tim really liked her. People usually show their true feelings when their drunk. He was probably ashamed of his actions and embarrassed that he couldn't hide his feelings away.

She spared him the embarrassment and decided not to reveal what happened that night. "Nothing. I just annoyed him the whole time at the club."

"Oh," Percy nodded. "Well, he needs to get over it. You don't deserve to be treated like the plague."

Haley giggled. "That's fine. I don't mind it at all. I know he truly likes me inside," she joked, walking away from the counter to greet the new customers.

Nathan climbed downstairs to check on his employees and his eyes immediately focused on Haley. She was smiling at the customers with her one-of-a-kind smile. With the sun reflecting over her face, he couldn't seem to look away. He stopped and cleared his throat loudly as he made his way towards Percy.

Haley turned around and found Nathan. He was wearing a striped button up shirt and black jeans today. He was pretty stylish for a man his age.

"We need to do something," Nathan stated, leaning against the counter.

Percy looked up from what he was doing and glanced at Nathan curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"I just looked at the sales for the past several weeks and it's not getting any better. We need to do something to attract more customers," Nathan explained. He glanced at all of the equipment on the counter. "Can you do something else with that?"

"This is only for brewing coffee, Nate. I don't think there is anything wrong with the coffee or the cafe. I think it's doing quite well," Percy smiled, browsing around the place where a handful of customers were sitting.

"It's not good enough for me. There's got to be another way to get the sales up."

"How?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."

"You know I don't know how to do these creative things. I'm just a barista."

"But my dad chose you to co-own this place with me. Am I right? We're supposed to negotiate these things together."

"I think the place is good enough."

Nathan groaned. "Didn't you own a café once before?"

"Yeah."

"How did you manage it?"

"Just like this."

He scoffed. "No wonder it got out of business. You're useless," he stated.

"Hey!" Haley called out, stepping up to the counter. "Don't say that to him. Without Percy, we wouldn't have coffee in this cafe."

Nathan rolled his eyes and drew out a long breath. "I was asking him for advice on how we could develop better sales."

"I think it's doing well," Haley stated.

"See!" Percy exclaimed.

"Haley, it needs to be better," Nathan whined.

She remembered what he told her in the car. His confession about wanting to make his parents' proud. She told him that she'd work harder for him so that he could gain their respect. She couldn't let him down now. This was her opportunity to support him.

"What about," she began. "How about we have themed nights?"

"Themed nights?" Nathan questioned. "Like what?"

"We can have a karaoke night. People would enjoy that, right?"

"Karaoke nights are for drunks. This is a café, Haley."

"Okay, then maybe . . . " she began to think. "AHA! What about an open mic night? Local musicians can go on stage and sing. It will give both them some promotion and it will bring us more customers."

"That's brilliant!" Percy exclaimed.

Nathan gazed at Haley for a while, admiring her quick ideas. He was a little iffy about it, but it sounded like it could work. There were many aspiring artists around the city since it was a pretty big place. It would be a great opportunity for people to come to support them and the café. It could also be known as the place that started their careers or the place where all the cool shows were.

"I like it," Nathan stated.

"Really?" Haley replied, surprised.

He nodded. "Yeah. Let's start setting it up."

"What would you do without me?" she smiled.

"Who knows."

"I have to get to these orders."

Haley gave Percy her list and then turned to smile at Nathan. She couldn't help but feel something for the guy. It was nice being able to talk to him without him yelling at her. She liked bantering with him though. It was the fun part about their friendship or whatever they were. She hoped it would continue like this

Nathan's eyes followed her as she walked away to serve more of the customers.

"Lovely little thing, isn't she?" Percy asked, noticing Nathan's expression.

Nathan turned to him. "What?"

"I saw how you were looking at her."

"How was I looking at her?"

"You got those googly eyes."

"No I don't."

Percy smirked, amused by the twenty six year old. "Whatever you say, Mr. Scott."

"I don't," Nathan refused.

He grew annoyed by Percy's unimpressed face and turned around. He immediately noticed Haley again laughing with one of the customers.

_What's going on here? Am I actually being a softy around this girl? She's not my type at all. She's a lousy dresser. She's reckless. She has clumsy feet. She's naïve. She's weak. . . She's funny. She's talented. She's smart. . . . She's pretty._

Nathan didn't notice it but he was smiling as he began thinking about Haley. He didn't even recognize that his lips were curling at the corners of his mouth. He suddenly realized what he was doing and he quickly stopped to shake away the thoughts. He blinked his eyes a few times and cleared his throat. He looked around him bashfully, hoping no one saw the little moment he had. Then he took one last glace at Haley before he decided to return to his office.

"I'm going to go set up the open mic night," he told Percy before nervously heading off.

Percy lifted an eyebrow and grinned at the way the boy was reacting. He sighed in pleasure as he watched him walk up the stairs.

"It's blossoming," he mumbled.

* * *

Alex pouted as she hung dresses up at work. She had been acting like a depressed little child ever since that night at the club. She never felt so useless in her life. For the first time in a long time, she was rejected by the guy she wanted. It was weird because she always got the guy she wanted hence Julian Baker. She never thought she'd see the day.

Another thing that bothered her was the fact that Haley was surrounded by all those guys. Tim, Clay, Jake and Nathan.

_What does she have that I don't have? She questioned._

She looked at the dress that she held in her hand. It was a floral blocked dress. It was beautiful and she really wanted it. But since she didn't have the money or a man to buy it with. The only way she could get it was by stealing it. The boutique paid her, but not enough to buy expensive clothing like she used to. That's what Julian was for. He was a wealthy guy with a huge bank and he was willing to give her everything she wanted. Just like the boys before him, they had money and an attractive face. It was always that way. But now she didn't have one. She wanted Nathan to replace Julian, but it was going to be a lot of work to get him to crawl into her bed.

She looked around here to see if any of her coworkers were around and sneakily ripped the tag off of it. Then she continued hanging up the clothes.

**

* * *

**

After work, Haley bought the guys some Chinese food and they ate it in the café. Tim was busy sweeping the floors while everyone else was eating at the tables. He was still very antsy around Haley. He just didn't know what to do with himself.

As Haley twisted some noodles on her fork, she quickly stuffed it in her mouth. She was so hungry that whole day. She didn't eat breakfast or lunch earlier. With food finally in front of her eyes, time could not be waste so she forced it down her throat.

Jake watched her in amusement. It was fun seeing her eat this way. It was just another thing added on to the list of cute qualities he liked about her. He always wanted to know what it felt like to sit at the same table with her when they ate. It almost felt like they were on a tiny date. He enjoyed her company. Every time she was near by or flashed him a smile, it made his whole day. He just wished she felt the same way.

"I heard we're having an open mic night," he stated.

Haley swallowed the food in her mouth and nodded. "Yeah," she exclaimed happily. "I'm the one who thought of it."

"What for?" Jake questioned.

"Nathan wanted something that could help the cafe, so I thought maybe introducing an open mic night could increase our popularity."

"You never cease to amaze me," Jake complimented.

Haley looked at him shyly and began to blush. "Oh it was just something that came to kind. Nothing big."

"No really," he stated. "You were always the one to help someone out when they needed it. Especially in high school."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Remember that one time during English class our junior year when the movie for Shakespeare wasn't working, you thought that it would be fun if a few students acted the scenes out instead."

Haley smiled at the memory. "Oh I forgot about that. That was a really fun day. Remember when David took about ten minutes on his dying scene?"

Jake laughed. "It seemed more like an hour to me."

"Oh David," she sighed, thinking about the class clown. "I can't believe you remembered that! That was years ago."

"I have very vivid moments still embedded in my mind from high school."

"I'd like to hear some more if we have time," she hoped.

"Definitely."

Nathan had his back to them as he ate his container of food with Clay. He couldn't help but feel annoyed by their conversation about the olden days. But it was nice hearing that Haley was actually the same creative person she was back then. That part he liked.

"So when are we having this open mic night, Nate?" Clay questioned, chewing on his orange beef.

"Um. I was thinking Fridays. It's a perfect time since all the kids are done with school for the weekend and the older bunch can enjoy a nice coffee with some nice music."

"Anybody can get up on stage and sing, right?" Clay questioned.

"Yep, anybody," Haley answered, turning to them.

"So that means I can go up there with my guitar and sing whatever I want?"

"Do you really want to do that?" Nathan questioned.

"I want to try. I haven't picked up my guitar in months."

"Make that years," Tim corrected, sweeping a pile of dirt into the dustpan.

"Let me correct that, I picked up my guitar. I just haven't gotten the opportunity to sing in front of an audience."

"You might be a little rusty, buddy. I don't want you to embarrass yourself," Nathan stated.

"Like I said. It's been years," Tim joked.

"You might choke," Nathan added.

Clay stopped chewing his food at their words. He was getting frustrated with his friends joking around with his singing. Sure he hasn't played around or wrote a song in years, but he wanted to get back into that zone again. He wanted his friends to support him but they weren't. It made him feel stupid for even wanting to get on that stage to sing.

"I think it would be a good way for you to open up your talent to the world," Haley stated. "So do it. I want to hear you sing and play guitar anyways."

Clay glanced at Haley and couldn't help but feel happy at the sight of her smile. He was glad that Haley was around. Something about her was just so angelic and nice. He knew she there was something wonderful about her the minute he laid his eyes on her.

"I'm very thankful for your encouraging words, Haley," Clay stated. "You're very supportive unlike my best friends who aren't."

Nathan sighed, feeling guilty for being rude, and said, "Clay, I really think you can do it. But as a good friend, I don't want you to go up there after all these years and feel like you failed."

"Then I'll practice."

"It's just open mic night, anyways," Haley began. "It's opportunity. When you're ready, it will be there waiting for you."

Tim chuckled and she quickly glared at him. "That sounds perverted."

"No it doesn't," she retorted.

"Yes it does."

"I don't think so."

Tim shook his head at how naïve Haley was. "If only you understood. But you wouldn't know."

Haley scoffed. "You're the perverted one, Mr. Sloppy Drunk!"

"WHOAH!" All the guys called out in unison with laughter in between.

Tim's eyes widened and cleared his throat. "Hey! It was an accident!"

"What's that saying?" Haley questioned Jake. He just looked at her with a grin. "Drunken words are sober thoughts. But in this case it's drunken actions."

Tim finished sweeping the floor and placed the broom and dustpan against the wall. "It doesn't mean that I wanted to do it."

Clay couldn't help but laugh. "You keep telling yourself that."

"I'm not lying!" Tim whined. "I didn't even know I did that."

"If you want us to believe that you still hate Haley, don't get drunk again," Nathan advised, hoping that he'd listen. He really didn't want it to happen again at all.

"Oh trust me, I won't," Tim replied. He swallowed the lump in his throat before he grabbed the broom and dustpan to put back into the closet. He was so embarrassed that he just wanted to run away and hide. But he wasn't going to let that worry him anymore. Whatever happens from here on out, he will have to deal with it.

**

* * *

**

"Come to Chivalry café's open mic night this Friday. It's going to be fun!" Haley called out as she stood outside the _Paint Shop_ handing fliers to people. She wasn't supposed to be advertising another store at work, but she did it anyways. Mr. Kim was busy checking inventory at the back, so it was the perfect opportunity for her to help Nathan out. She was going to do whatever she could to make the café work. Besides, he was helping her out anyways.

Thanks to him, she was beginning to feel more confident in her own skin. Tears were no longer shed, memories of Julian were slowly fading away, she didn't mope around the house anymore and she was enjoying life. After being around the guys at work so much, she realized that she was content with what she had after the breakup. Her coworkers treated her better than Julian ever did. They were her family. They were a bunch of big brothers and father figures that she never had. Ever since her father's death when she was twelve, she had forgotten what it was like to feel protected. Now that she was surrounded by several men, she finally felt comfortable again.

"There will be music and a variety of coffee there," she advertised, handing more and more blue fliers out to the mall shoppers.

"Haley!"

She jumped in fear and turned around to the voice of her boss.

"What you doing!" Mr. Kim exclaimed.

"I'm –uh- " she began.

He stepped next to her and observed the pack of papers in her hands.

_Chivalry Café opens their first official open mic night Friday from eight to eleven. Bring your friends_, _step on stage, drink some coffee and enjoy some fine fine music. It's going to be the best thing you'll ever experience!_

"You advertise other work here?" he asked.

"I know I'm not supposed to, but Nathan really needs the help right now," she tried to explain.

"You can't do this, Haley. You know the rules."

"Please, Mr. Kim," she begged.

"This art shop. Not coffee shop. Now put those away," he ordered, turning back around to work inside.

Haley sighed deeply and followed him. "Okay, I'll stop," she stated.

"Good. You on my shift not his."

"Okay, okay." She walked back behind the counter and placed the pack of fliers on the corner of it. She really wanted to continue advertising the open mic night because the mall was packed with people. It was the easiest place to get young kids and other adults to come join. Everyone loved music. And everyone loved coffee. It was a perfect fit. But she was at the Paint Shop and Mr. Kim didn't want her to tell his people to go somewhere else.

"You should come," Haley suggested as she watched Mr. Kim unwrap a statue that he brought in earlier from the back. "You haven't visited yet."

"Cause I'm working. I have no time."

"Just come to the open mic night. Close the store Friday day and go to the cafe."

"I don't know."

"It's going to be fun!" she sang.

He stopped unwrapping the sculpture and thought for a second. "Well I can play some guitar," he stated.

She smiled. "Then bring your guitar. Everyone is allowed to step on stage whenever they want."

"How many songs can I play?" he questioned, turning around.

"Maybe about two or three. Everyone needs to get their chance to shine."

Mr. Kim used to play some Korean folk music before. Haley knew because she's known him for a long time. She remembered during her younger years when they'd visit his house with her dad, he'd play an old folk song on his acoustic guitar. Even if she couldn't understand it, she loved it. The language didn't stop her from wanting to hear more of it.

"I might go then," he stated.

"I hope so."

"I'll play some songs your dad and I used to sing."

"My dad sang Korean?"

Mr. Kim chuckled as he removed the plastic from the piece. "No, some oldies. They good."

"I would think so," she smiled as she thought about her father. She missed him a lot. After realizing this, hopefully open mic night wouldn't open old wounds.

**

* * *

**

Nathan scratched the nape of his neck and pressed the door bell of his parents' hosue. His parents invited him over for lunch, so he took some time away from work to join them. He hadn't had dinner with his family in a while since he's been busy enjoying life elsewhere. It made him kind of nervous. He's had lunch and dinner a few times with his mother for the past several years but never with both of them. It was ten times, no, a hundred times more stressful when they were together especially when his father was around.

After a few minutes of waiting, the door swung open, revealing the house maid, Sylvia.

"Master Nathan," she smiled.

"Hi Sylvia, "he greeted, stepping inside.

"You've arrived just in time. You're parents are waiting at the dinner table."

Nathan nodded as he made his way down the hall towards the dining room where he had many heated fights with his father during his high school years. Those were the moments in his life that he'd like to take back. He wanted to erase those times so that he could start over. If he didn't give up so early on his career, he would be doing something really great right now. But instead he was wasting it on a small coffee shop in the middle of down town.

He approached the room and found his parents sitting in their assigned seats. His father at the end of the table and his mother sitting adjacent from him on his right side.

"Nathan, dear, you came!" Deb greeted with a smile.

Nathan returned the gesture and walked up to his seat. He was glad to see that his mother was well again. It was probably from the soup that he bought her and the mini pads Haley bought for him.

"I didn't think you'd actually come. I know how stubborn you can be," his father stated.

"Dan!" Deb whispered roughly.

"What? I'm just stating the truth."

"Well I'm here," Nathan responded, settling himself in the chair as he ignored his father's comment.

"And I'm very impressed," Dan began.

Nathan nodded. He didn't believe him. He didn't even think his dad believed it either. That's how bad it was. The support and encouragement was completely gone.

"What's the meal for today?" Nathan questioned, trying to hide the hurt inside.

"Salmon," Deb smiled.

"Delicious."

"So how's work going for you, son?" Dan asked, sipping from his glass of wine.

"Shouldn't you already know? You're my boss."

"I just wanted to hear it straight from you."

Sylvia stepped inside, holding a tray of food and placed it on the table. She set a plate in front of the Nathan and then did the same for Deb and Dan. She smiled and returned to the kitchen.

"It's nothing to be proud of, "Nathan replied, remembering the numbers on the papers.

"You're right," Dan stated. "It's nothing to be proud of."

Nathan furrowed his eyes as he started cutting up his meal. He was hoping to hear something along the lines of, "It's okay son, it's good enough for the mean time. It will get better," but no.

"Really, dad?" Nathan questioned roughly, placing his utensils on the edge of his plate.

"Son, what do you want me to say? That it's okay?"

"Well yeah!"

"No. You've already past that time. I would've told you those exact words five years ago if you went and got yourself a good job. But you didn't. You wasted it on useless vacations and materialistic items."

Nathan groaned and leaned forward. "I got a job now. Aren't you happy? I'm no longer going on useless vacations and buying items I don't need."

"You got a job _because of me_. Because I knew you weren't going to go find one yourself."

"I'm trying here, okay?"

"Well try harder," Dan demanded. "I'm not going to baby you in this business, Nate. You need to toughen up and learn the consequences of your actions. I can't have you slacking off again."

"I'm not slacking off!" Nathan retorted. "At first when you gave me this job, I wasn't happy about it. I felt like I was being forced to do something I didn't want to do. But I'm actually enjoying it. I'm busting my ass to get this place in tip top shape."

"But look at the sales son," Dan replied. "They aren't good enough. They are not rising. It's not impressing me. Those are the results of an average businessman. If you want to impress me, do more than just ordinary."

Nathan's jaw tightened and decided not to say anything in return. He wasn't going to waste anymore breath arguing with his father. It was useless. It wasn't possible to impress him just by explaining it to him. He had to show it. He had to prove that he was really serious about this. When his father said that the results of the café was of an average businessman he reverted back to his high school days. That's when he had the results of an average high school student. That's when his parents totally stopped believing in him.

"Stop it you two," Deb cut in. "This was supposed to be a nice lunch with the whole family. Can we at least enjoy the food and act like we love each other?"

"I'm just going to eat this and leave," Nathan stated as he started scarfing down his meal.

"Nathan," Deb began, realizing that her own son was upset. She moved her eyes towards Dan and gave him a disappointed face. She wanted to enjoy a nice lunch with her whole family, but this just had to happen. Nothing was ever right between those two. They were always fighting and never satisfied. If only it could be fixed.

**

* * *

**

It was raining like crazy right after Haley's shift at the _Paint Shop_. There wasn't a lot of lightning or thunder, but there was definitely a lot of water. Thankfully she had on thick and cheap clothing on or else she'd be freezing to death and ruining a nice outfit. So her flared blue jeans, fruit shirt, and brown jacket were soaking wet. She was in the middle of waving for a taxi when the rain started drowning her on the sidewalk. She didn't think it was even possible for rain to drop down that hard.

With everyone running around rushing for a taxi, it was impossible to find a ride for herself. So instead of waiting around for one to come to her, she decided to be a stupid person and walk in the rain to work.

She tightened the jacket around her as she walked across the street. The rain was falling and the autumn breeze was blowing which made it so hard for her concentrate on where she was going. If only she checked the weather channel earlier, but Haley liked spontaneity so she decided not to.

"Brr," she shivered, as she crossed the street. It had been about twenty minutes since she started walking. People probably thought she was crazy for even thinking of walking in this cold rain like this. She didn't even have an umbrella. Add on to that craziness, the temperature kept dropping. She needed to find a warm shelter fast or she'd catch pneumonia.

Haley browsed around and found a bus stop at the end of the street. As she hurried her way towards it, she noticed a homeless man covered in rags and a gray hat lying on the bench. At first she was scared and sad from the sight, but then she realized that he was covered up completely. She was jealous.

While Haley was resting at the bus stop, Nathan was driving to the café from his parents' house. The rain was pretty intense just like the tension between him and his father during lunch. He ate that plate of food so fast that he didn't even say goodbye. He was obviously not ready to sit and chat with his father about business yet. His father practically chewed him out. He didn't want that to happen again. He didn't want his father to think less of him anymore. So he promised himself that the next time he sat at that table, Chivalry Cafe would already be a big success.

As he was driving, Nathan noticed a couple of homeless people sitting at a bus stop. He thought they were crazy for not finding a better shelter, but then he realized that one of the homeless people was Haley. He furrowed his eyes at the sight of her trembling body.

_She was supposed to be on her way to work right now. What is she doing there?_

Nathan quickly drove out of his lane and parked at the curb of the bus stop. He climbed out with an umbrella and noticed how the other homeless man woke up from his slumber. Nathan ignored his threating look and approached Haley. She was leaning her head against the glass with her eyes closed. With her wet hair, she looked like a little wet puppy.

"Haley," he called out.

She lifted her head off the glass and squinted at the image in front of her.

"Nathan? How is it even possible that you always find me?" she questioned.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "What are you doing here anyways? It's raining. Not only that, but it is freezing."

"I was trying to get a cab, but like always they despise me. So I decided to be stupid and walk to work."

Nathan shook his head. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"I know. That's why I said I was stupid."

He sighed deeply as he observed her drenched clothes. "Come on, let's get you into something dry," he ordered, grabbing onto her elbow.

"Are you going to buy me some?" she questioned as he kindly led her towards the passenger seat of his car.

"If that's the fastest way to get you dry then yes," he replied.

Haley grew surprised as she watched him walk to his side of the Porsche. She climbed in and buckled her seat belt.

"You don't have to do that," she stated, making squishy sounds on his leather interior.

Nathan winced at the sound of her wet clothes touching his car. But for once, he really didn't care about the water damaging anything. He just needed to get Haley dry enough so that she didn't catch anything.

"Don't worry about it," he stated, restarting his car.

"Nathan, really, you can just drop me off at my house and I'll –"

"Haley, stop it, okay? There's a store nearby where we can get you into some clothes. It's faster."

"But the money."

"I'll just take some of it out of your paycheck," he stated. "I don't want you to get pneumonia by staying in those wet clothes."

She smiled at him and grabbed a handful of her wet hair. She groaned and opened up her shoulder purse that she was wearing. Unzipping it, she pulled out the fliers. Thankfully for her thick purse, they were dry and in good condition.

"Look, I saved the fliers."

"You took some?" he asked.

"Yea, I was sending them out to people at work."

Nathan was impressed. "Really?"

"Yeah. Mr. Kim didn't want me advertising another business, but I did it anyways. I wanted to help out. I want your parents to be proud of you again," Haley stated.

Nathan looked away at the mention of his parents and continued driving. "As far as I know, they're not even close to being proud of me. At least not my father."

Haley put the fliers back and glanced at him, interested in his words. "Did something happen today?"

He took a while to respond. "I just had lunch with my parents and you know what my dad did?" She shook her head. "He yelled at me for being a slacker. He told me that I wasn't working hard enough."

"Well he's wrong," Haley responded, disagreeing with his dad. "You've been working hard since the very first day."

"Please tell him that," Nathan replied dryly. "Cause he doesn't see it."

"Your father should be a little bit more considerate. This is your first time to work in a real business, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then he should understand that it's not going to be perfect . You don't know all the basics. He should be teaching you instead of assuming that you know everything."

"He told me that he would've been more supportive and encouraging if I had done this earlier. But now that I'm older, I don't deserve that privilege. I just want to quit. I can't do this. I don't know how to handle all of this."

Haley scoffed in disbelief. "Nathan," she said slowly. "It's not going to be easy. If it was possible, I'd sprinkle fairy dust and make the café successful in a second, but I can't. That doesn't mean that you can't be successful. You just have to work harder. Don't be a Debbie Downer because of your father. If he can't believe in you, I'll believe in you."

Hearing those words come out of her mouth made him feel so good inside. He needed those words more than anything. He wanted those words. Now he got those words. Instead of hearing it from his parents, he got it from the last person he ever thought of. _Haley._ It was unbelievable how supportive she was despite all the cruel things he's put her through. It kind of made him laugh inside that the one person who he once disliked was becoming the one person he needed at this time.

"Thanks, Haley," he whispered, breathing in and out as he drove.

**

* * *

**

In the middle of washing cups and plates in the kitchen, Jake was preparing how to ask Haley to hang out after work. He didn't want to sound too pushy or flirty. He wanted to be friendly, but not too friendly where it made her think it was a date. He definitely didn't want to scare the girl away. He just wanted to be closer to her -to see what it would be like to be friends. Sure, they hung out outside the café once at the club, but he hardly spent anytime with her. And he didn't want their friendship/relationship to be limited only to the café.

"_Hey Haley, I was wondering if you wanted to go hang out for a little bit after work?" _he mumbled. He furrowed his eyes at how lame he sounded and shook his head. "No, no. Um. _Haley, if you have to time_, _do you want to hang out after work? _No." He groaned and thought again. "_Haley, I feel like we don't hang out enough. Let's grab a drink after work." _He grew frustrated and practically slammed the cup on the bottom of the sink.

"What are you doing?" Tim questioned, walking inside with a curious look on his face.

"Oh, I can't clean the cup," Jake lied.

Tim shook his head – weirded out- and walked towards the sink to place a few more dishes inside.

"It looked like you were talking to yourself."

"I wasn't."

"Right," Tim replied slowly. "I think you were, man."

"I wasn't."

"Okay, I'll pretend that I believe you."

"I'm serious. I wasn't talking to myself. . . " Jake observed the unimpressed look on Tim's face and sighed. "Maybe just a little bit. I'm just practicing a few lines."

"What? Are you becoming an actor or something?"

"No."

"Then what for?"

"Just something, okay?" Jake replied, annoyed. He didn't want Tim getting into his business so he took the cleaned dishes and quickly walked out.

Tim furrowed his eyes as he watched Jake disappear through the swinging doors.

"Geez. So touchy!"

**

* * *

**

"Grab a shirt and some jeans. Then we're going," Nathan ordered as they entered a clothing store.

"Okay," she stated. He watched her as she tried to tie her wet hair up, but it snapped and broke. "Great, just great. Now I have nothing to tie my hair with."

"Don't worry about it. Just go."

"Fine," she said before browsing around to find uniform colors.

Nathan just sat on one of the couches as he waited patiently for her. He browsed around the place and noticed all the nice jewelry and clothes they had in the store. It was all simple and casual styles, nothing too shabby. Then he noticed the rotating shelf full of hair ties and pins.

He glanced over to where Haley was. She grabbed a pair of jeans and walked into the dressing room.

"She's not a picky one, is she?" Nathan mumbled to himself, surprised that she already chose what she needed.

He glanced back at the shelf and stood up to browse around for a good piece that Haley could use since her hair tie broke. Nathan wasn't sure what to get. Being a guy, he didn't know a lot about hair ties and bows.

"Are you looking for something?" the sales lady asked from behind him.

He jerked a little bit from her high pitched voice and smiled at her. "Uh, I'm just looking."

"Do you need to get something for your girlfriend?"

"What?"

"I think she suits more of this style," the lady stated, ignoring his question. She picked up a jeweled floral hair tie.

He was taken back by the girlfriend comment, but he didn't let it faze him. There was no point in arguing with a lady he would probably never see again. So he let her believe whatever she wanted to believe.

"Okay, I'll take it," he replied, holding it in his hands. He didn't care what it looked like as long as it was good enough to tie Haley's hair.

"Do you want to pay for it before she comes out?"

"Sure," he replied. "Oh and I'd like to pay for whatever she's buying too," he added.

"Okay," the lady smiled as he followed her to the front desk.

Haley took a while in the dressing room until she was satisfied with what she got and walked out wearing the clothing. When she did, Nathan was already waiting for her at the front.

"Here. I still have the tags on so you can scan them," Haley stated, walking up to the lady.

"It's not needed. He already paid for it."

"What?" she responded, surprised turning to the raven haired man. "You already paid for it?"

"Yeah, we need to hurry anyways," Nathan replied, grabbing her hand. "Let's go. We're late for work."

The saleslady smiled as they two started heading for the door. "Thank you for coming!" she called out.

"You too!" they both yelled in unison.

As they walked out the door, the lady sighed and smiled. "What a cute-looking couple."

When they started approaching the car, they noticed that the sky was clearing up and the rain stopped.

"Finally!" Haley smiled, pausing by the car door.

"Get in," he ordered, climbing inside.

They both went inside the car and he started the engine. But before he could drive off, he pulled the hair tie from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Here," he stated.

Haley finished buckling her seat belt and glanced at the object in his hands. She marveled at the beautiful piece in front of her and picked it up. "What is this?"

"Your hair tie broke so I bought you that."

"Why?"

"Like I said, your other one broke," he answered, trying not to sound too sincere. But then he noticed the expression on her face. She looked confused and hesitant accept the hair tie. \

"What? You don't like it?" Nathan questioned.

"Oh it's not that. I like it. It's pretty. It's just . . . so thoughtful of you. It's kind of weird," she laughed softly. "But thank you," she grinned happily.

Nathan sneakily glanced at her to see her joyful expression. When he saw it, he felt content that he was able to make her happy.

"I just picked it up. It's nothing. You needed it."

"Well this is really nice of you anyways," she replied as she started pulling her hair up in a side pony tail. She adjusted the jeweled flower part to where it was near her face and she looked over at Nathan as he drove.

"How do I look?" she asked.

Nathan stopped at the red light and took one glance at her. When he looked away, he had to look back. It felt like something was forcing him to look at her like a magnet. He wasn't sure why it was like that, but when he saw her face, smiling at him, batting her eyelashes with no make-up on, she looked shockingly beautiful. He couldn't seem to turn away.

"If I look that ridiculous, you don't have to tell me the truth. Just lie or just don't answer it," Haley stated, realizing that Nathan wasn't giving her a response.

He cleared his throat and focused back on the road. "You look nice," he mumbled.

"Hmm?" she questioned.

"You look nice with that big flower on your head," he corrected.

She playfully glared at him, poking him on the shoulder. "I'll take that as a compliment," she stated, turning to look out the window and smiling to herself.

When they finally returned to the cafe, Mr. Percy noticed the look on their faces when they walked in together. Nathan said something about how she looked like a rat earlier when she was soaking wet and she playfully punched him in the arm making him laugh.

As Nathan walked upstairs to his office, Haley walked up to the counter where Percy was brewing more coffee.

"Where have you two been?" he questioned.

"I got caught in the rain. Nathan picked me up," she answered, playing around with the flower in her hair.

Her observed the tie and smiled. "Where'd you get that?"

"Oh, Nathan bought it for me. My other hair tie broke." Percy grinned at the thought of it. Haley grew curious. "What?"

"You really have everyone wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

"Huh?" she replied confused.

"You'll just see," Mr. Percy stated, turning around to get more coffee beans.

Haley looked at him, puzzled and tried to understand what he was trying to say. Then she turned around to see the rest of her co-workers working really hard around her. Tim was sneaking awkward glances at her; Jake was kindly smiling at her and Clay confidently giving her smirks. Then she turned around, unaware of her surroundings.

**

* * *

**

After a couple of hours of hard work and labor, Jake was ready to ask Haley the hardest question he ever had to ask. He's been trying to find the right way to say it without sounding like a big flirt or a moron. He still wasn't satisfied with the way he was going to ask her, but he ran out of time. They were already cleaning up the café.

He wiped the rest of the table he was cleaning and turned to where Haley was standing. She was discussing something with Nathan and Percy at the counter. They looked really serious at first, but then they started laughing. He loved Haley's laugh. He even thought the flower hair tie enhanced her beauty.

Once he noticed that he had a chance to speak to her, Jake walked up to her nervously.

"Hey," he greeted her.

Haley looked away from Percy and Nathan and smiled at Jake. "Hey, Jake!"

He didn't care if anybody else heard him. This was his chance to finally go further with Haley.

"Have you ever been to DJ's Barbecue downtown?" he questioned.

She shook her head. "No, I haven't. Is it new?"

"It's kind of new and kind of not. It's a really good place. I was going to go out to grab something after work and I was wondering if you wanted to join me?" he finally asked.

Nathan lifted an eyebrow as he observed the two in front of him. _Was he asking her out on a date?_ He glanced at Haley and waited for her to answer.

"Sure. Barbecue sounds good right now. We need to hang out anyways. It's been ages," Haley responded.

Nathan leaned forward on the counter and looked over his shoulder to examine the expression on Jake's face. He looked pleased and satisfied. He wasn't sure why he was even eavesdropping or listening to their business, but somehow he couldn't help it.

"Barbecue does sound good right now, huh?" Nathan stated.

"Do you want some?" Haley asked.

"It's up to Jake," Nathan replied.

Jake's mental celebration over the success of asking Haley to hang out suddenly stopped when he looked over at his boss. He didn't want to say no because Nathan was the man he worked for. But he always didn't want to say yes because this was supposed to be his time to hang out with Haley on his own.

Jake cleared his throat and said, "Sure."

Nathan could tell that Jake didn't want him around. It was obvious that Jake had a thing for a Haley. He didn't want to interfere with it even though he really wanted to come along to see if there was anything between them at all. But he wasn't going to do that. Jake was a nice guy. If he liked Haley, he liked Haley. If Haley liked Jake then she liked Jake. He wasn't going to stop them from liking each other.

"It's okay. Maybe next time," Nathan replied. "I've had a rough day. I'm just going to head straight home."

"Are you sure?" Haley asked.

"Yeah."

"Alright then I'll see you later boss," Haley smiled. She surprisingly leaned in for an embrace. Nathan was shocked but pleased by the electricity he felt from her hug. He briefly wrapped his arms around her and then they quickly parted.

"Thank you for the clothes and hair tie. I appreciate it," she stated.

Jake grew curious and examined her outfit. Those were from Nathan. Then he began to wonder if his boss was developing something for her too. He grew a little frustrated and looked away.

"We'll see you later." Both of them said their goodbyes and walked out of the café to go to their destination.

Tim approached Nathan at the counter and looked out the window where Jake and Haley finally disappeared from their sight.

"So that's what he was practicing," Tim stated.

Nathan looked away from the window towards his best friend. "What?"

"I heard Jake talking to himself in the kitchen. He was probably practicing how to ask her out."

"Oh," was all that Nathan could respond with. He sighed deeply and leaned forward on the counter.

"No wonder he wanted to wait for her at the club," Clay stated. "It's because he liked her." He smiled to himself. "That kid really likes her. Mr. Lonely finally got the guts to ask her out."

"He's not Mr. Lonely anymore," Tim stated.

Clay laughed. "You're right!"

Nathan's jaw tightened at the sound of their conversation. Mr. Percy was fixing all the appliances when he glanced at Nathan who was being awfully quiet. He could tell that he was upset about Tim and Clay's conversation.

"Maybe he'll get lucky tonight," Clay joked.

"It might be chaotic considering that it's Haley," Tim replied.

"That could get kind of messy."

"She's a disaster in the making. Who knows how she'll be in be-"

"Would you guys stop?" Nathan snapped, disgusted by the way they were talking about Haley like that. Clay and Tim stopped fooling around and looked at Nathan curiously. "They are just going out for barbecue. It's not like they're going out to have sex," Nathan added.

"We were just joking," Clay replied, curious by Nathan's sudden snappy behavior.

Nathan didn't respond. He sighed deeply, shocked that he even snapped like that.

"Yeah, Nate. We were just joking," Tim repeated.

"Well have a little respect for the girl, okay?" Nathan ordered roughly, taking a step back away from the counter.

"We do. Well, I do at least," Clay replied. "We weren't being serious, Nate. Don't be so touchy. I like Haley. I respect her."

"It definitely sounds like you respect her," Nathan stated dryly.

Clay furrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Are you upset about something?"

"No," he replied.

"Your attitude says otherwise."

"It's nothing. I just have too many thoughts in my head right now," Nathan replied.

"Is it about Haley?" Clay questioned.

Nathan paused for a moment and scratched the back of his neck in frustration. He was getting confused. He was developing something for Haley, but he wasn't sure if he should believe it or just let it go. It seemed like he was just becoming too attached to her because she was there when he was vulnerable. He was probably just having a hard time comprehending his growing friendship with Haley because he was so used to hating her. He couldn't really define what he was feeling. He kind of liked it, but he kind of hated it too.

"No it's not," Nathan lied. "Just finish cleaning up, I'll be heading out."

"Alright then," Clay replied, unsatisfied with Nathan's response. "Come on, Tim. Let's finish up."

* * *

You like? Keep me inspired! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hello my loverlies! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! i know they don't send out gifts for this holiday, but they do send out candy and treats though. So this is my special treat for you! A quick chapter! I want to thank you all for the amazing reviews. They always make me smile. I'm glad some of yall are loving the slow progression of Naley's relationship. I also apologize to those who think I'm making it too slow. But I mean,I'm a big fan of watching a relationship blossom rather than have it go straight to the point. I like progression. And sorry, Haley does not have any musical talent in this story. She probably does but it's not a big issue that will be focused on. She's a painter. She paints. That's her talent. :) I hope to hear more from you! You all always inspire me to continue on!

I hope you really enjoy this chapter!

love

_Annie_

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Nathan was in bed, staring blankly at his ceiling as he tried to separate his thoughts. He could barely sleep. For some odd reason he couldn't stop thinking about Haley. She was embedded in his mind and he couldn't get her out. He felt something earlier when he saw her trembling at the bus stop soaking wet from the rain and shivering because of the cold. He couldn't take his eyes off her when she looked at him with her hair pulled to the side with the jeweled hair tie he bought her. He felt something. Something that flickered in his chest. Something warm. Something powerful. It was similar to a rush of adrenaline. A rush that he liked but feared.

He quickly sat up in bed and remembered the hug earlier that day. It was the second time they embraced like that. The first one was at the _Paint Shop_ when he agreed to help her become a woman. He was surprised by it and at the same time he liked it. But it was kind of strange because he had negative feelings towards her at the time. Now he found himself slowly growing attached to her which made the second hug more intense than the first one. It sent electricity through his body – through his veins; from his head to his toe; through his chest. He kind of wished it lasted longer than it did.

Then he thought about Jake and Haley and their supposed date. He was angry at the thought of him and her doing something – something unexceptional; something he didn't want them to do. He wanted to know what they were doing and if they were enjoying each others company. He wanted to know what they were talking about and if Haley was laughing at his jokes. He just wanted to know what was happening in general.

He groaned in frustration from all the strange thoughts in his mind and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Why the hell am I feeling this way?" Nathan mumbled through his hands. He removed them from his face and looked up. "I need a drink of water."

**

* * *

**

Haley was in the middle of eating from her bowl of mashed potatoes and thought about her day earlier. She couldn't help but love how caring and generous Nathan was. He saved her from the rain and bought her new clothes. He even replaced her broken hair tie with one that was ten times more beautiful than the original. The thought of it gave her some kind of breath of fresh air.

"I can't believe I never been to this place," Haley stated, eating her food. "Do you go here often?"

"Every other day. Sometimes I settle for fast food like McDonalds," Jake replied, pleased that he was actually spending some quality time with the girl of his dreams from high school. They talked for a while about old memories and classes. He even successfully made her laugh

"The food is excellent!"

"I figured you'd like it."

Haley tore a piece off of her barbecue chicken wings and paused to cough out the slight tingle in her throat. She coughed about three times before she placed the piece of meat in her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked concerned.

She shook her head as she chewed on her food. "I'm alright. I think I'm catching something. It's probably because I walked in the cold rain earlier."

Jake's eyes widened. "You what? Why did you do that?"

"I was being stupid and the cabs refused to stop for me. I figured the buses were going to be packed with people so I just walked."

"That's not really the smartest thing to do."

She let out a light laugh and pictured Nathan standing in front of her when she woke up from her slumber at the bus stop. "Good thing Nathan found me."

Jake swallowed his food and observed Haley's expression when she mentioned his boss's name. "That's heroic of him," he stated, hoping he didn't sound too dry.

"I know," she smiled. "It's weird, he's always showing up to save me."

"He's done this more than once?"

"A couple," she replied. "When I was vulnerable and drunk on the sidewalk by the art gallery one night, Nathan appeared and took care of me. Then he saved me at the club when this old man was trying hit on me. He came and pretended to be my boyfriend to keep him away."

_He especially saved me from being a broken mess because of Julian. He saved my family from working thrice as hard to pay for his car debt. He's saving me right now._

"He's done a couple of things for me that I am so thankful for. Like this job. It's one of the things I appreciate the most," Haley added. "At first I didn't think he was someone that could be forgiven or tolerated, but it turns out that that jerk 's not as bad as I thought he was."

To Jake it seemed like Haley had already set her eyes on someone. She probably hadn't confirmed it or realized it yet, but Jake could see from the look in her eyes and the curl of her lips that there was someone on her mind. It kind of hurt him to realize that just by listening and watching her. But if he could be this close in proximity to her and talk about things like this, it was good enough for him. There was still a chance for him though. Until she confirms that she's made her choice or rejects him, Jake will continue to do what he wished he had done during high school.

**

* * *

**

"Haley!" Vivian called out from the door way as she stuffed one of her textbooks in her back pack.

"Where is she?" Lydia questioned. "She's supposed to be getting ready for work."

Her youngest daughter shrugged her shoulders and zipped up her bag. "I don't know. She's probably still in bed," she answered.

Lydia sighed as she grabbed her bag that was packed with a bunch of colorful fabrics and her sewing kit. A woman needed to get her daughter's debut outfits custom made so Lydia had to be there early to get everything set up. She couldn't be late but she couldn't let Haley be late either. She was always awake at this time.

"Well aren't you going to wake her up!"

"Mom, I'm going to be late for the bus!" Vivian waved her arm outside where the yellow vehicle was nearing the corner of their street.

"Fine. Just go to school," Lydia stated. "Haley will wake up eventually. She's probably taking in a few more minutes of sleep. She's been exhausted all week. It must be from all that work."

"It's her fault for working two jobs. I mean really, who does that?" Vivian complained.

"Vivvy, stop it. Your sister is doing it for us especially for you so appreciate it."

"Whatever," Vivian rolled her eyes. "How long do I have to work at the _Paint Shop _anyways_?_"

"Until I say you can stop."

"That's not really fair. Mr. Kim can fire me anytime he wants to. You can't really stop that."

Lydia looked at her daughter curiously and folded her arms across her chest. "Are you planning on getting yourself fired or something?"

"No, I'm just saying. What if he fires me? Then what?"

"That's not going to happen. He's a close friend of ours. Until I tell him that he can release you, you will continue working there."

"Mom, it sounds like you're putting me in jail," she complained. "I have no life now!"

"Tough luck," Lydia smiled, patting her daughter on the back. "Let's go. Your bus is here."

"Ugh!" Vivian complained, stomping down the steps of their porch.

"Haley! We're leaving!" Lydia cried out. She waited for a response but no one answered. She grew concerned because of the silence. It was just odd that Haley wasn't awake at this time. She wanted to walk down the hall to check on her, but she was running late already. "You better wake up or you'll be late for work!" she called out again and heard a few mumbles. She took that as a sign that she was still alive and shut the door behind her.

From her bedroom, Haley was wrapped up in multiple blankets. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and glanced at her digital clock that said 7:30. She moaned at the time and peeled the comforters off her body. She ached as she moved around and struggled to climb out of bed. Then she realized that her hairline was drenched. She must've been sweating all night.

For the past week, Haley was getting ill. She figured it was just a cold because she walked in the cold rain the other day, but now it seemed like it got worse. Her throat was sore, her body ached, and she wasn't feeling good at all. Even if she was feeling ill, she still went to work. She had to work. She couldn't slack. The money was needed for her family. There were a couple of bills that needed to be paid and she couldn't let a simple illness hold her back.

Haley walked over to her bathroom down the hall and splashed cold water on her face. Then she glanced at her pale complexion in the mirror and groaned at the sight. There were dark bags underneath her eyes and her lips were dry.

"Great," she mumbled. "I just had to get extremely sick on open mic night. Nathan is going to kill me if I back down now."

She sighed deeply and prepared a cold shower to at least make her feel better. Then she got ready for work. She wore a thick scarf around her neck with a jacket over a simple t-shirt and some polka dotted pants she didn't even know she put on. Then she took the city bus to the mall.

Everyone looked at her strangely on the bus. They were fascinated and overwhelmed with her bright lime green polka dotted pajama pants and UGGs. She really didn't care because she was trying to cope with her sickness through this developing cold autumn weather. All that mattered was work right now and her loyalty to her bosses.

**

* * *

**

Clay placed a stack of trays in the corner by the counter and looked over at Nathan who was scratching the back of his head roughly. He was thinking a lot again. He always had the tendency to scratch at the back of neck when he was frustrated or thinking too much. It was either one or both.

"Stressed out?" Clay questioned, approaching the counter.

Nathan turned to Clay and grabbed the blender to make the smoothie he was planning on making. "Just a little. I'm just unsure of how well this open mic night deal is going to turn out."

"You don't need to worry about that," Clay replied, leaning against the marble counter. "I've already advertised to everyone that I know that I'll be singing. It's going to be packed."

Nathan grabbed a few fruits, some ice from the mini ice box, sugar and a small bottle of milk. "You know that many people?"

"I'm Clay Evans, of course I know a lot of people. Just you wait. This place is going to be filled with beautiful women."

Placing all the ingredients inside, Nathan sighed. "Are any of those women from different age groups and are some of them guys?"

Clay furrowed his eyes at Nathan as he watched him close the lid on the blender. "Umm. Yes to the first question and 'I didn't know that you were like that Nate' to the second question," he joked.

"You know what I mean. We can't just have women as our customers. There needs to be a variety of people to please. Both men and women. Old and young. Chivalry café is a community café. A place where families can enjoy breakfast or brunch."

"Well don't worry about it. There's going to be a variety of people. I'm sure Percy invited some of his older pals. Jake probably invited his buddies. Tim doesn't have any friends other than us. And didn't Haley say that she gave out fliers at the mall?" Nathan nodded. "Then it's going to be a success. Don't stress over it."

Nathan pressed the blend button and held the cap tightly so that it wouldn't rip off. "I know. I'm just. . . I really want this place to be something to be proud of. I don't want it to be tacky or disastrous," he stated.

"Nate, you got this. You have us. This place is going to be bad ass in the next couple of months. Just watch," Clay stated as he turned around to wait the tables.

**

* * *

**

She coughed and sniffed and dropped many boxes of items in the backroom of the _Paint Shop_. Haley tried her best to use enough of her strength to push and pull some of the art pieces, but she was too weak to move any of her muscles. She felt drained and exhausted. But she wasn't going to let it interfere with her responsibilities. She was going to fight it out.

"Look, Haley, I brought my guitar!" Mr. Kim stated, walking into the back of the room with his wooden acoustic guitar in his hands. It was obvious that he had it for a long time. The strings were worn out and had been readjusted many times. She knew because she remembered watching her father's own guitar look like that after he tuned it.

"I can't wait to hear what you have prepared for tonight," Haley managed to get out through her stuffy nose.

Mr. Kim stopped messing around with his guitar and looked up at the ill child in front of him. He noticed how oddly discolored Haley looked the moment she walked into the store. He didn't think much of it until now. She looked insanely sick.

"You sure you can work today? I worry about you sickness, Haley," he stated, walking up to her. He placed the back of his hand on her forehead and then to her neck. "You burning up. You need lie down."

"I can do it. I am still walking, breathing and I can still see. That's all I need to be able to work."

"You wanna die?"

"Mr. Kim don't talk like that. I'm fine. I drank a ton of liquids before I came here and I even brought some of my own. I set them under the counter up front. I also took some medicine."

"You sick. No work for you," he stated, grabbing her arm. He wasn't convinced that Haley was able to make it just by drinking liquids and taking medicine. She was seriously sick to the bone. She needed help.

"Mr. Kim!" she complained. "I'm fine. I have a ton of portraits to add to the collection in the store."

"I am wise, Haley. I know what I'm talking about. You drink more water and get more rest. You need it."

"Mr. Kim I am fine," she replied, pulling her arm weakly from his grip. "I have a few more hours and I'll be home."

"But you got work at café."

Haley winced at the thought along with the ache from her migraine and sighed. "Oh yeah."

"Call your boss and say you take off."

"I can't. It's open mic night."

"Haley, why you do this to yourself? You sick! Take care of your body!"

She figured that Mr. Kim wasn't going to accept anything she wanted to do so she lied about calling Nathan. She was going to show up to work whether she was sick or not because that's how loyal she was to him. She couldn't let him down. Open mic night was her idea. She had to be there.

"I will call him."

"Good!" Mr. Kim replied, patting her on the shoulder. "I go buy some juice and icepack. Don't strain yourself."

"Okay," she smiled weakly as she watched him walk out of the backroom.

Once he disappeared, she sighed deeply and let out a few coughs and sniffles. Then she continued to fix all the items around.

**

* * *

**

Julian sat in his office, examining all his clients' files for his next trial. He's been trying to focus more on work and less on the drama that he's been going through. He was a single man. Both of the girls he loved were gone. They pretty much hated him. He understood Haley's reason, but he still couldn't really understand Alex's.

He sighed deeply and opened one of his drawers where he found a photo of him and Haley at a carnival. She was holding a large stick of pink cotton candy and a large bear under her arm. She looked so happy there. He did too. Then he turned it around and read the writing on the back.

_Julian! Honey! Here's a copy of our picture at the carnival. This was one of the best days – scratch that- THE BEST day of my life. It was our first date! It was perfect just like you. Thank you for winning that bear for me and thank you for cheering me on at the water gun game. I will never forget this day. I'm so glad that we got this far. Happy One Year Anniversary honey! I love you!_

_Love_, _Haley_

He felt a sudden ache in his chest after reading the note. His eyes began to water a little at the memory of her smiling and laughing as they strolled around the carnival. He was actually happy at the time. He felt like he was gifted with someone as angelic as her. But he ruined it because he wanted more than what he was given. He couldn't believe that he destroyed something as perfect as his relationship with Haley. He was going to marry her for God's sakes. Why did he ruin it? Why did he settle for Alex? Was it because of sex? Was it because he was slowly falling out love? He couldn't understand himself either. But now, he was regretting everything he's done. He wanted her back. I wanted to be forgiven. But it was going to be hard after breaking her heart.

**

* * *

**

Jake and Tim started setting up the stage area by pulling away all the tables and chairs from the corner of the room. They placed a mic stand and a key board by the window so people could see from the outside patio. Then they placed a stool so the performer could sit and play if they wanted to.

Nathan glanced at his watch, realizing that Haley hadn't showed up to work yet. She was supposed to be at work around four and it was already a quarter to seven. He needed her here to help organize the place. He needed her to help make this open mic night a success. They already had a few prepared performances for tonight like Clay, a couple solos, two local teen bands, and Mr. Kim. But he was scared that after all of that, no one's going to go up there and sing.

"Where the hell is Haley?" he whispered to himself.

Then he moved his eyes towards Jake. For the past week, Jake and Haley had been awfully close. It seemed like something happened between them during their little barbecue outing. Jake beamed every time Haley was around, but he always beamed when she was around. Except his time he seemed more comfortable around her presence. More relaxed and outgoing. Nathan figured he probably knew why she wasn't showing up to work.

"Hey Jake!" he called out.

The wavy haired brunette finished adjusting the keyboard and looked up to his approaching boss.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where Haley is? She was supposed to be at work a couple of hours ago."

Jake shrugged. "I don't know. I know that she's been sick all week. Maybe she's resting."

"If that's the case, she should've just called me."

"Then you should call her," he suggested.

"I thought you two were close now."

"We are," Jake answered. "I just don't know where she is at this moment. But if you want me to, I'll call her."

Nathan shook his head. "No, I'll do it. Just get everything ready."

Jake nodded, unsatisfied by Nathan's attitude and walked towards the rest of the guys who were fixing all the tables.

Pulling out his phone, Nathan pressed on Haley's name in his phone book and walked up the stairs towards his office. He heard it ring four times, but no answer. He waited a little longer, but still no answer. Finally, before hanging up, Haley finally answered the phone.

"Hello?" she greeted her voice hoarse.

"Where the hell are you?"

"Home. I'm sorry, I should've called."

"Yes you should've!" he snapped.

"I came home straight from the _Paint Shop_ to change into my work clothes but the moment I laid on my bed I fell asleep. I'm a little sick right now, but I'll be there. I promise. I'm sorry if I made you stressed out."

Nathan sighed as he looked out the window and noticed all the customers coming towards the café in packs.

"No you didn't worry me. Just get here, okay?"

"I will."

They both hung up and he continued gazing at the amount of people walking into the coffee shop. He couldn't believe the sight. It was a magnificent amount of people. Hopefully the night turns out better than what he expects.

**

* * *

**

Vivian quickly climbed out of Mr. Kim's vehicle to run up to the café which had the biggest crowd she's ever seen. They arrived straight from the _Paint Shop_ after closing. Lydia was still busy with the debut dresses so she couldn't come along. So she asked Mr. Kim to just bring Vivian with him. Mr. Kim followed Vivian after he grabbed his ancient acoustic guitar from the back seat and entered the café filled with people.

Vivian looked around the place to search for the one guy she was waiting to see all week. It was unfair for her to be working straight after school during the week because she never got to see Clay. Finally the day has found him serving a couple of people at a table with a tray of coffees and she sighed at how handsome he looked wearing that black and white uniform. Clay looked up from the table and noticed Vivian at the entrance. He smiled at her and she waved happily back.

"I hope you enjoy it," he stated to the table he was serving and started walking towards Vivian.

She could feel her heart beating rapidly beneath her chest as he came nearer. She wasn't sure how to cope with the way her body was trembling at the sight of him. It was like a dream come true. But she didn't know how to handle it.

"Hey Vivian!" he greeted, embracing her in a tight hug. She nearly melted in his arms from the scent of his sweet cologne. "I haven't seen you in ages. Did your sister come along?"

She smiled nervously but then she stopped. She was confused. "What? She's not here?"

"No. I thought she was with you."

"No," Vivian answered slowly.

"We've been looking for her all day. Do you think something happened to her?"

"I don't know. She's been acting strange lately. This morning she didn't even wake up early for work."

"Let's hope she comes. We need her," Clay stated.

"Yeah, I'll call her if you want me to?" she smiled.

He looked down at the young girl in front of him. She was cute. It was obvious that she had a huge crush on him. He could tell by the way eyes gazed at him and by her body language. But she was way too young for him to be hitting on. He wanted to make sure that he didn't lead her into thinking he liked her in that way.

"Sure," he said. "You go call her and I'll get back to work. Tell me if you can get a hold of her."

"I will," she grinned.

"Alright, kiddo. I'll talk to you later," he stated, turning around. But then he paused and looked back at her. "Oh, are you staying the whole night?"

She was about to dial Haley's number but then she stopped and she nodded at him. "Yes."

"Good. I'll be singing tonight. I don't want you to miss it. It's going to be awesome!"

Vivian giggled softly. "I can't wait!"

He chuckled at her giddiness. "K, I'll see you later."

Once he was out of her sight, she sighed deeply and placed her hand against her chest. Vivian needed a moment to soak in what just happened. He hugged her and wanted her to stay to hear him sing. It was all too perfect.

In the middle of her moment, she felt someone push her aside. She was distraught and looked behind her at the people walking through the entrance.

"Hey! Watch it!" she cried out as they pushed her further to the side.

She stumbled on her feet and glared at everyone that past her by. Then after a couple of people, she found Haley dragging herself through the entrance. This was the first time she's seen her all day. She looked awful. Haggard. Exhausted. Pale. Dead.

"Haley!" Vivian called out, holding her sister's shoulders. "You look horrible!"

Haley struggled to widen her eyes and she pushed a strand of her hair from her face. "Thanks," she answered dryly.

"Are you sick?" she questioned as people rudely pushed them out of the way. Again, Vivian glared at them.

"I'm just a little sick."

"You don't look a little sick. You look deathly ill!"

"I'm fine," Haley snapped, removing her sister's hands off her. "I need to get to work. So behave."

"Haley!" Vivian called out as her older sister walked past her towards the kitchen.

"Vivian! I'm fine! I'm going to clean myself up and work. Don't worry about me!" Haley snapped, pushing through the swinging doors.

Vivian groaned, forgetting her stubborn sister and searched around for her friends.

Haley was in the middle of washing her hands when Nathan walked into the kitchen.

"There you are!" he stated in relief. "I need you to organize who's going to perform first and. . ." he stopped when she turned to him. He's never seen such a drained out complexion than the one in front of him. "Haley, what happened to you?"

"Nothing. I'm just falling ill. But I can still work," she smiled.

He furrowed his eyes at her and observed the bags under her eyes and the sound of her coughs. "You sound contagious."

"No, no. It's just a cold. Nothing serious."

He lifted an eyebrow. "For my customers' safety, I think you should just stay in the kitchen."

"What?" she snapped.

"You're coughing like crazy!"

"No I'm-"she stopped to let out a raspy cough. "Okay, maybe I am. But I'm fine. Let me just pick up the cups and plates so that I can clean them. I won't make coffee or anything."

"Are you sure you can work?"

"Yes!" she answered, annoyed. "I'm tired of people worrying about me today."

"Well what do you expect? You look like death."

She scoffed. "You need me right now. You can't send me away."

He thought about it for a second and realized that she was right. But he had this gut feeling that he couldn't let Haley suffer with her sickness. Her health was more important than the success of open mic night. Yet he couldn't refuse it.

"Fine," he gave in. "But if you can't handle it anymore just stop and sit down for a while."

"I'll be okay, I promise," she smiled weakly as she patted him on the shoulder to walk out towards the crowded cafe.

"I hope so," he mumbled to himself before following her out.

**

* * *

**

The old Asian man slowly walked up on stage with his guitar. He sat on the stool with one knee on the little attachment at the bottom. Then he pulled out his red pick from his jacket pocket and glanced up at the crowd. He didn't look nervous or worried. He just stared out at everyone, looking them straight in the eyes with such glee and happiness as if he knew each one of them individually. Like he was looking deep into their soul, hoping to gain their full attention.

Haley leaned against the counter to focus on him. Mr. Kim closed his eyes and took in one deep breath before he began to play a tune. She wasn't sure what song he was playing, but it sounded really familiar. She figured it could've been a song he played with her father when she was younger. It was a very vague memory, but she was glad that she was able to listen to the song clearly now.

She watched as he glided his fingers along the neck of the guitar and continued to play a beautiful melodic song. There were no words, just notes and the smoothness of the music. Everyone didn't seem interested in the old man's performance. It irritated Haley because they were supposed to be paying attention to him. But everyone kept moving around and talking as if he wasn't there. After his instrumental intro, Mr. Kim finally started singing the lyrics. At first it surprised everyone because it was in Korean, but after a while, they all slowly stopped what they were doing to listen to the man's magnificent voice. That's when Haley grew pleased. The man was singing in a different language for goodness sakes, but they didn't care. Music was music. If it sounded amazing, it was amazing. And Mr. Kim was definitely amazing.

Nathan was by the entrance, leaning back against the wall and his arms folded across his chest. He couldn't help but stay still at the sound of the foreign music coming from the mic. The melody was soothing to his ears and obviously to everyone else's in the café as well. Then he turned to the side and found Haley sitting on a stool by the counter, still pale as can be, but with a smile displayed on her lips.

He couldn't believe how strong and loyal she was. Despite her illness, she was still supporting him and smiling. That wasn't easy to do. Usually when Nathan was sick, he wouldn't care about anything or anyone. He'd be upset all day because he wasn't at his healthiest. But seeing Haley walking around the cafe, smiling at people, and covering up whatever illness she had was impressive. It made him realize that Haley was stronger than he ever was. He always thought she was weak because of the break up, but other than that, she was strong. She just a fragile heart. That was all.

Haley winced from her current migraine and coughed a little bit. Then she felt like someone was watching her so she turned to the side and found Nathan looking at her. Their eyes met for a split second until he quickly looked away. She furrowed her eyes at him and continued staring. It was pretty obvious he was staring at her. She saw him.

Nathan knew he kept his eyes on her too long so he looked away, but Haley never turned around. She kept looking at him. He grew a bit nervous and a little irritated so he slowly glanced at her. Then he looked away. Then he looked back at her again after realizing that she was still staring at him.

"What?" he mouthed.

"You were looking at me," she whispered quietly.

He shook his head. "No I wasn't."

"I saw you!" she mouth.

Nathan chuckled quietly and signaled that she was crazy. Haley scoffed and watched as he looked towards the mic and started clapping. She did the same when she realized that Mr. Kim was finished. When Haley finally stopped clapping, she turned her head towards Nathan, but he disappeared. Her eyes furrowed and started looking around for him. She stepped down from her stool and suddenly felt herself grow dizzy. She quickly grabbed the edge of the counter to keep her balanced and took in deep breaths.

"Haley. Are you okay, sweetie?" Mr. Percy questioned from behind her.

Haley rubbed her eyes and turned around to give him a smile. "I'm fine. I'm just having a minor head ache."

_That was a lie_, _Haley. It was a major head ache. I should be resting right now. I should be taking medicine and drinking more water. But as much as I love staying healthy_, _I have to be here. I have to be loyal. Gosh! Why do I have to be such a stupid girl?_

Mr. Percy looked at her, unconvinced by her answer and nodded. "I know a nice drink that can sooth that migraine."

"Really? Because that would be wonderful right now."

"Yes ma'm. I will make it just for you. It's usually for hangovers, but it does the same thing for regular head aches too."

"Thank you," she smiled.

Mr. Percy nodded and returned the gesture. "It'll be done in just a few minutes."

Haley nodded and found an empty table with dishes just laying around. She told Mr. Percy that she'd be right back and walked over to grab the plates and cups. Once she did, her head began to throb again. She groaned to herself and stood there for a few seconds so she could deal with the pain. Then she held the dishes and returned to the kitchen.

While she was there, she could hear the feedback from the stage. Looking out the window opening from the kitchen to the main room of the cafe, she could see Tim adjusting the mic stand.

"That was Mr. Kim with um. . . . "

"Arirang!" Mr. Kim cut in.

Tim raised an eyebrow, confused by what he said. "Airy rang," he stated.

"No, Arirang," the Korean man corrected.

"That's what I said, airy rang."

"A-ri-rang," he said slowly.

"I said that! Airy rang!"

Mr. Kim sighed deeply and gave up. He walked off the stage with his guitar and disappeared into the crowd. Haley laughed at the interaction between the two and turned back around to finish cleaning the dishes. Then she heard Tim clearing his throat and continued talking.

"Alright, um, let's give Mr. Kim another round of applause." A roar of claps were heard. "Now our next brave performer will be another solo act. It's our very own Chivalry Café employee, Clay Evans." An even bigger roar of screams and claps were heard. It was like you were at a real concert or something. "Here he is!"

Clay nervously held his guitar and stepped next to Tim. "Thanks Tim," he whispered.

"No prob," Tim replied. "Good luck."

Clay nodded and settled himself on to the stool. He readjusted his strap around his shoulder and smiled nervously at everyone in the crowd. Seeing this many people was kind of nerve-racking. At first, he thought he wasn't going to be fazed by the size of the crowd or who was in the crowd. But now, sitting in front of them, all eyes on him, he felt two inches tall.l

"How are you guys doing tonight!"

"GOOD!" the crowd hollered.

"Mr. Kim was excellent, wasn't he? If only I could be as talented as that guy right there," he complimented.

Vivian squealed at the sound of his voice and watched him dreamily from her table by the window. It wasn't exactly the place she wanted to be seated in, but she was able to be see his face clearly. Plus they were able to have eye contact if he ever looked her way.

"I haven't played in front of an audience in a while so bear with me, okay?" he began. He settled his guitar on his knee and then strummed the strings once just like Mr. Kim did. "I wrote this a long time ago. I haven't sung it to anyone yet, so you guys get to be the first ones to listen. I hope you enjoy it!"

* * *

Nathan was serving the customers on the outside patio as he listened to his best friend sing. He was impressed and surprised. He thought he was going to back down last minute, but he was actually better than he expected. Well he was always good. It was just the fact that it been a long time since he got the courage to stand up on stage again. After that incident a while back when he stood at one of the local bars with a guitar ready in his hands and ran off stage, he wasn't sure he was ever going to return. That's why he was afraid that he'd choke. By surprise, Clay actually worked on his courage. It was kind of ironic how the confident flirty player was the shy, self-conscious musical performer. People had their flaws. Not everyone was perfect.

After serving everyone their preferred coffee, Clay was finishing up his song. Nathan walked inside the café and placed his empty tray on the counter where Mr. Percy was chatting it up with Mr. Kim about the war or something. Then he heard a loud roar of claps and screams from behind him. He could literally hear all the girls screaming just for him. He chuckled at the sight of all the ogling women and shook his head.

In the middle of all the cheers, Nathan heard a crash from inside the kitchen. The two older men quickly turned their heads at the sound as well.

"What was that?" Mr. Percy questioned.

Nathan quickly grew concerned and realized that Haley was washing the dishes. He hurried through the swinging doors, ready to yell at her for breaking the dishes but he found her lying on the ground. He had never felt so scared and worried than in that moment in his life. He hurriedly rushed to her side and pushed all the broken dishes away from her body.

"Haley, Haley," he repeated, holding her body up a little bit. From the touch of her skin on his, he felt the heat burning through him. She was hot. Her fever rose and her skin was paler than before. "Oh my God, come on, wake up!"

He heard her moan a little bit which made him relieved that she was still conscious.

"What's going on Nathan?" Mr. Percy asked, leaning over the ledge of the kitchen window. When he noticed Haley limp in his arms, he figured it out. "What happened?"

"We need to bring her to the hospital," Nathan panicked, ignoring his questioned. He slipped his arms underneath her legs in order to carry her and kicked the broken dishes out of the way again.

"Okay. I'll take care of the café while you're gone," the worried chubby man replied.

Mr. Kim was surprised to see Haley there. I didn't notice that she was even working while he was singing. He thought she was going to take the rest of the day off, but obviously she didn't listen. If only she listened to him.

"I'll call her mom," Mr. Kim stated.

"Please," Nathan replied as he pushed through the swinging doors to rush her to his car. Good thing the hospital wasn't far from the café or they would've been screwed.

A few people began to grow curious at the sight of Nathan carrying Haley out in such a hurry. Jake was especially worried at the sight of her limp body in his arms. He wanted to ask what happened, but Nathan was a bit too fast for him to catch up.

"What happened to Haley?" Tim questioned, approaching the counter. "Is she okay?" he panicked.

"Her illness must've taken a toll on her," Mr. Percy answered.

* * *

Nathan held her tightly to him as he jogged around the parking lot to find his car. He needed to get her some help quick. She wasn't looking good at all. The bags under her eyes were darker and she was burning up. When his mother was sick, her fever was never this hot. He couldn't believe that Haley actually went to work this way. She should've been thinking about her body and health more than the cafe. Chivalry cafe shouldn't be the first thing on her mind.

"Nathan?" he heard her whisper.

He finally found his car and glanced down at her. Her eyes were slightly opened. "Thank God, you're awake."

"I don't feel good."

Nathan opened the passenger seat and placed her gently inside. "I figured. That's why I'm bringing you to the hospital, okay? You'll be fine, Haley. Don't worry. You'll be fine."

Haley could hear him vaguely but then her eyes began to close slowly again, making everything fade out into blackness. Nathan sighed deeply as he shut the door quickly and rushed to the driver's seat.

* * *

Mr. Kim finished speaking to Lydia on the phone and squeezed his way through the crowd of people to get Vivian. She had no clue what was going on right now. She was too busy admiring Clay on stage.

"Vivian!" Mr. Kim called out.

"Huh?" she responded as her eyes stayed glued on Clay.

"Let's go. Your sister at the hospital."

Suddenly the thought of Clay was no longer important and she turned to Mr. Kim quickly. "What? What happened?"

"She collapsed. Your mom meet us there. Let's go."

She nonchalantly grabbed her purse and went with him to go to the hospital.

Clay noticed how half the crowd was talking about something that just happened. Some were looking out the window and others were talking amongst themselves. He was proud of his performance. He was happy. He was confident. And he was glad that everyone loved it. If it weren't for Haley's supportive words, he wouldn't have gotten the courage to actually get up there to pursue his dream.

He carried his guitar towards the counter where most of his coworkers were located. Nathan and Haley were no where in sight. When he passed a few people, he heard them say something along the lines of, _Is she okay? Was that her boyfriend? What happened?_

He furrowed his eyes and met up with Tim who looked distressed about something.

"Hey, what's going on? Did something happen?"

Tim turned to him and shook his head nervously. "Nathan just brought Haley to the hospital."

Clay's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"She collapsed in the kitchen."

"Then we better go with him!" Clay suggested.

"No, we can't, son," Mr. Percy stated. "Look at this place right now. We can't leave it like this. We have to keep working."

"But Haley's hurt."

"We know Haley's hurt, but we still have to work. Nathan's got it taken care of. Haley will be fine. So let's continue working the rest of the night and we can all visit her later," Mr. Percy advised. "So go on. Chivalry Café's knights need to do their jobs."

Tim and Clay went back to work, both clearly upset about Haley's issue while Jake was thinking about walking out to take the next taxi to the hospital. But the moment he looked at the crowded cafe, he knew he couldn't do that. He had to work. He had to make this day a success. Not for Nathan but for Haley.

**

* * *

**

She could hear distant voices but she couldn't see anything or anyone. It was pitch black. But then her eyes began to flutter open and she found her mother, Vivian and Mr. Kim standing on her bedside. Haley grew confused and then observed her surroundings. She was in a hospital gown covered in wires. Then she glanced out the window and noticed that it was dark.

"Why you go to work?" Mr. Kim questioned.

She turned away from the window and looked at her troubled Korean boss. "I'm sorry," she replied in a raspy. "What happened?" She had no memory of what brought her here. Not one single second could be remembered.

"You collapsed, honey," her mother answered, placing her hand over hers. "Why didn't you tell me you were falling sick? You scared us to death you know."

"Again, I am truly sorry. I didn't want to worry you, but that obviously didn't work out."

"Good thing you're alive!" Vivian stated, chewing on a piece of gum. "If Nathan didn't rush you to the hospital like he did, you would've been a goner."

Haley grew curious. "What? Nathan brought me here?"

"Yeah. You didn't know? He said you were talking to him a little bit when he brought you here."

Haley tried to remember, but nothing seemed to come to mind. Her sickness probably made her forget. His body was obviously not functioning correctly at the time.

"He's a real gentleman and savior," Lydia stated, admiring the young man after talking to him earlier.

"Where is he?" Haley questioned, looking around the room to find the familiar man.

"Oh he went back to work. He said it was too busy to stay here and that he'd be back tomorrow to visit you with the rest of the guys," Lydia answered and glared at her daughter playfully. "You're in big trouble, Missy. I still can't believe you went to work all day in this condition. Don't you know when your body needs to rest?"

"I was going to do it during the weekend. I needed to do my job."

"You're really smart, aren't you?" Vivian groaned.

"I figured that," Haley answered, dryly.

"Ma'm, visiting hours are over," the nurse stated from behind the door.

Lydia nodded and they all turned to Haley. "We have to go. Just go back to sleep. We'll see you in the morning."

"Okay, but how long am I staying here?" Haley questioned.

"The doctor said that you were pretty close to getting pneumonia, so they want you stay in for a couple of days."

"What about work?"

"You sick. Take time off," Mr. Kim answered.

"And Nathan said that he'll give you however many days you need to rest before going back to work," Vivian stated.

"So next time, listen to Mr. Kim and stay home and rest. I still can't believe you let your body get this far."

"I promise that I'll take care of myself next time, mama,."

"You better keep that promise, kiddo."

"I will," Haley smiled, feeling a little weak and ill

"I guess we'll see you later, sweetie. Have a good night sleep and I'll pray for your health."

Lydia leaned over to kiss her eldest daughter on the forehead and walked out with Vivian and Mr. Kim beside her. Once they disappeared from Haley's sight, she turned around towards the window and she began to think about Nathan. He saved her once again for the nth time. He was always saving her and he was always there when she needed him the most. If it weren't for him, so many things would've happened to her already. She would've been raped or kidnapped if he didn't show up at the gallery to bring her to his house. She would've been assaulted against her will if he didn't save her from that drunken old man. She would've died or gotten worse if he didn't save her from the cold rain and found her in the kitchen. She never felt so guilty for making him do all this for her. She kind of felt like she was taking advantage of him. But she was very thankful to have met a man that was willing to care for her in such heroic ways. It was all too overwhelming. Like her mother said, he was truly her savior.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/n:** Hi loves! I'm sorry I didn't update last week. I've been trying to get this chapter written for a while now but things just kept coming up. Plus, I'm really anal when it comes to what I want to write and how I want to write it. lol So it took me a few deletions and reediting to get what I have for you all now. Again, I'm very sorry for the delay. But here is the next chapter. Thank you all for the supportive words. I'm very very thankful and blessed to have such lovely readers. Without your kind and supportive words, I wouldn't be motivated to continue this story. And I am absolutely glad to hear that you all love how I'm slowly progressing their blooming relationship. And that you even love the other characters as well. I really am trying my best to keep the humor in the story. Sometimes I get to the emotional parts and somehow write them out to be really dramatic,but then I remember that this is a ROM COM as I would call it lol. That's the whole basis of the story. It's sweet and light hearted. I hope I can fulfill my goal and finish it soon!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Keep me inspired loves!

Annie

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"Thank you for coming! Have a good night!" Clay called out as he sent the last people out the doors of Chivalry café.

Nathan watched from the counter as tried to focus on the success of open mic night. It went really well for the rest of the day. Everyone enjoyed the entertainment and coffee. Brave customers even stepped on stage and sang a few songs. Some of the audience even sang a long with them. It was like they all forgot what happened earlier. But Nathan didn't. It was still clear on his mind. He held Haley in his arms. He felt her feverish skin burning on his skin. He saw how pale her complexion was and how dark her eyes were. How he could even forget that? The sight of her body sprawled on the ground just wouldn't disappear from his mind. It was too hard to bear.

"That was the last of them," Clay stated, clasping his hands together in accomplishment. "Too bad Haley wasn't here to see it all."

"I still can't believe that she collapsed today," Tim stated, grabbing a few towels to clean up the tables. "I didn't think she was even that sick."

"I should've told her to stay home," Jake mumbled, lifting up one of the chairs. He flipped it over and placed it on the table.

Nathan looked over his shoulder and observed Jake as he worked.

"Yeah. She should've stayed home," he agreed, turning back around to stare at his hands. The hands that held her limp body just a few hours earlier. "If she knew she was sick, she should've stayed in bed."

Mr. Percy was in the middle of wiping the glass coffee container when he glanced at Nathan's upset expression. It was obvious that he was affected by Haley's condition. The way he was acting definitely showed how much he truly cared for the girl even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Well if it weren't you, she would've," the old man stated.

Nathan lifted his head up from his hands and gave the man a confused look. "What?"

"You scold her all the time. You yell at her for being late sometimes. When she doesn't follow the rules, you get mad at her. When she doesn't do something right, you get angry at her. I think she came to work because she didn't want to disappoint you. Especially on this day," Mr. Percy explained.

Hearing that made the young owner feel guilty for all those times he's mistreated her. If he wasn't so pushy and so hard on her, then she wouldn't be risking her own health to make him happy. He remembered her saying that she would support him, but this wasn't what he was expecting. Her health came first.

"Don't blame Nathan for this, you old fart!" Tim exclaimed. "He didn't do anything."

Percy lifted a mug and pretended to throw it at Tim, but stopped. "You little rascal."

"You're always making Nathan look like the bad guy."

"What other reason is there?"

"Stop it," Nathan cut in. "No ones to blame here, okay? Haley's getting some help and that's all that matters right now. Open mic night was a success. Now let's clean this up and get ready for a new day tomorrow."

"Do you think Haley will be okay by then?" Tim questioned.

"I highly doubt it," Nathan answered. "The doctors wanted to keep her in for a few more days. I even told her mom that she could take as many days as she wanted to rest. But not more than a week."

"Well that's contradicting itself," Jake mumbled.

Nathan looked over his shoulder and found the wavy haired boy lift one of the chairs and flip it over on top of the table. "What?"

"You said that she could take as many as days as she wanted, but she can't have more than a week."

"Yeah. She can take one or two or three days off but no more than seven."

"Contradicting," he repeated.

"Whatever," Nathan answered.

Jake rolled his eyes. Nathan obviously didn't get what he was trying to say and he just shut his mouth.

"Let's just hope for the best tomorrow," Clay stated.

"I hope," Nathan mumbled.

* * *

"Nothing, nothing, nothing," Haley mumbled to herself as she flipped through the channels. She was bored out of her mind. Earlier when she woke up, she found a tray of breakfast food looking at her. There was a plate of scrambled eggs, a biscuit, two pieces of bacon, a bowl of fruits and a glass of orange juice on the corner. She obviously had no appetite because she was still severely ill. Her fever was so high, she could hardly maintain her strength. And the colors of the food was definitely not helping her already nauseated stomach. But she felt a lot better than before now that she got the appropriate help that she needed.

In the past couple of hours since she woke up, she only received two visits. One with her mother and sister and another with Mr. Kim They came in bearing gifts such as flowers and balloons. Nothing too big. But she really wanted to see the guys especially Nathan. She wanted to personally thank him for rescuing her last night. She was actually expecting to see them in the room when she opened her eyes this morning, but unfortunately that didn't happen. She figured it was because of the café. They couldn't all come in to visit her at once. Who was going to take care of the café while they were gone? No one. And she knew Nathan wouldn't like that.

She groaned and settled on a channel with cartoons. It was Tom and Jerry. She could tolerate watching a cat chase an intelligent mouse around for thirty more minutes. It was better than all the corny soaps and pessimistic news that was on.

"Knock, knock," she heard someone say.

It was a male voice. It sounded familiar. Way too familiar. When she looked away from the television screen to see who it was, she had to catch her breath at the surprise by the door.

"Hey," Julian greeted. He looked really hesitant to come any closer.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned, shocked to see his presence in her hospital room.

"I heard about what happened."

"How?"

"I dropped by the _Paint Shop _earlier expecting to see you there. When I did, Mr. Kim told me that you were at the hospital," he explained. "I came here as fast as I could. How are you?"

"You shouldn't have come," Haley replied as she observed the little gift bag he was holding.

"I had to, Haley. The moment I heard that you collapsed, I almost died."

"Wow. Why?"

"Because you're Haley. _My _Haley."

Haley sighed deeply and looked away immediately at the sound of those words. He couldn't do this now. Why was he doing this to her now? Just because she was lying in a hospital bed, weak and vulnerable, didn't mean that she was easily going to change her mind about him.

"Remember what I told you at the club, Julian?" she asked. "I told you I was done with you."

"Yeah I know. I remember that clearly," he replied. "You said that if I ever try to talk to you or make you feel stupid that you would kill me."

She moved her eyes back at him and gave him a stare that was so harsh, so cruel, and so serious that it kind of frightened him a little bit. He had never seen her like that before. She definitely changed.

"If I wasn't in a hospital bed right now, you would be dead."

"Look, I still really care about you, Haley. Until recently, I realized something."

She began to shake her head. "Please, don't you start with this again, Julian. Just because you heard that I was in the hospital doesn't mean that you should start to feel sorry for me. Don't sympathize me. Don't pity me. Okay?"

"That's not why I'm here."

"It doesn't matter. Just don't say anything at all. I'm finally getting over you. Don't make it even more complicated."

Julian bit his lip and stepped forward. She tensed up at the movement of his body.

"What if I say that I wanted to start over?"

"Start over?" she laughed. "That's not going to happen. I'm not going to give in that easily."

"I figured. That's why I brought you this," he stated, lifting up the bag to show her. Julian stepped forward and handed her the little pink bag. At first Haley wasn't sure if she wanted to accept it, but she was curious to see what was hidden inside. "Open it," he ordered gently.

She gave him a blank stare. She wasn't that impressed or satisfied with the gift. But she opened it anyways. Reaching inside, she pulled out a brand new picture frame with a familiar photo placed inside. It was the carnival picture of the two of them. She swallowed the lump in her throat at the sight in front of her.

"It's our first date, don't you remember?" he questioned.

Haley continued to observe the faces on the photograph. She traced her thumb over her smile and then bit her lip as she remembered the feelings she felt on that specific day. The happiness in her heart. The butterflies in her stomach. The ache in her chest.

_Why did he have to show this to me? Why did he have to bring up old memories?_

"I don't want this," she stated, placing it back into the bag.

"Haley," Julian began.

"No," she snapped. "I said I didn't want it. You made your choice already. You didn't want me. Now you don't get to have me."

"I made a mistake."

"And you're making another one."

"I knew this wasn't going to be easy."

She furrowed her eyes at him as he took a step back. It was obvious that he wasn't going to get the picture back. He was going keep it right where it was so she could suffer again. At least that's what Haley believed. So she picked up the handles and held it out towards him.

"Take it."

"Haley," he began. "I'm going to work really hard to get you back. I want you to know that. Even if it's going to take me months or years."

She could feel the old ache return to her chest. The horrible feeling was coming back again. She didn't want it. She didn't want it at all.

"Julian just take the damn picture! I don't want it!"

"No, I want you to keep it. But I'm keeping my word about getting you back. I'll become the man you deserve again," he replied. "So I'll see you later."

"Julian!"

He turned on his heel and walked out, leaving Haley with teary eyes and a photograph she wanted to burn into ashes.

**

* * *

**

Before Nathan headed to work, he took a jog around his neighborhood to keep his mind off of things. He was kind of happy about the success of open mic night, but he couldn't keep Haley off his mind. It was confusing him. He wasn't sure if the thoughts of her flooding his mind was because he was worried about his female employee or because he was starting to think of her as more than just his clumsy little friend.

After taking a shower, and dressing up for work, he finally reached the café. And by surprise, he saw the outside patio filled with people. The open mic night was a big accomplishment after all.

He stepped out of his Porsche and walked inside with his hands in his pockets. Jake and Clay were already busy taking orders and chatting it up with the customers. While they were doing their jobs, he found Tim sitting at the counter fully concentrated on something with a pencil in his hand. Nathan furrowed his eyes and approached him from behind.

"What are doing?" he asked, sitting on the stool right next to Tim.

His best friend didn't answer. Nathan continued observing him and found thinking wrinkles on his forehead. He couldn't help but laugh at how much focus he was putting on the folded piece of paper.

"He's trying to figure out what to write on the card he's giving Haley," Percy stated as he poured a mug with freshly brewed coffee.

Nathan's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "You're making her a card?"

"Yeah," Tim answered.

"Why? I thought you hated Haley."

"Well after thinking about last night and listening to what Percy said about scolding her too much, I started to feel incredibly guilty for being so mean to her. She's in a fucking hospital bed right now suffering. I don't think she deserves to be in there. So I thought that I should start being nice to her from now on. She's not that bad," he explained, his eyes still glued to the card.

A soft grin appeared on Nathan's face as he leaned against the counter. Then he glanced over at Percy who looked impressed with Tim's sudden change of attitude towards Haley.

"Who knew Tim, of all people, would do such a good deed," Nathan chuckled.

"I'm not a dog, you know."

"I'm sure he wants to be one," Clay stated, placing a his tray on the counter next to them. "Has he finished the card yet?"

"It looks really personal," Nathan stated, trying to read some of the sentences already written on it.

"That's because it is," Tim snapped.

"First you were trying to convince us that you didn't want to kiss her at the club and now you're practically writing her a love letter. You're fickle, man," Clay stated. "FICKLE!"

Nathan couldn't help but laugh at that. "I wouldn't want to be his next girlfriend. He'd love her one day and then hate her the next."

"I know, right?" Clay chuckled.

"Would you guys shut up! I'm trying to concentrate here," Tim snapped, annoyed by his best friends.

"So touchy!" Clay gasped, dramatically. "I'll get back to work, sheesh!"

Nathan chuckled. "We'll leave you be, Princess."

* * *

Haley pulled her knees up to her chest and stared blankly at the pink gift bag that Julian annoyingly left behind. It was sitting at the foot of her bed, practically staring at her and begging her to reopen it. But she wasn't going to let that happen. Not even the bright, yummy color of hot pink could make her look inside that bag again. It wasn't going to work. And Julian's speech about getting her back wasn't going to work either.

"Stupid bag," she mumbled, kicking it down with her foot.

When it tipped over, Haley was about to celebrate her victory when she jumped in fright at the sight of Tim bouncing inside her room.

"Surprise!" he cried out.

"Oh my gosh," she gasped, her hand to her chest. "You freakin' scared me!"

"Look, what you did, Tim. You almost gave the girl a heart attack," Clay cried out, shoving Tim out of the way. "She's already sick. Don't make her stay in the hospital even longer."

"Sorry."

"It's okay," she smiled.

"How are you, pretty girl?" Clay greeted, reaching over to grab an embrace from her.

"I'm better."

Following from behind, entered Nathan and Jake. In Jake's hands was a bouquet of different flowers while in Nathan's hands was a basket of treats.

"You guys," she began. "Why are you all here? What about the café?"

"We decided to close it for a while," Jake answered, handing her the flowers.

She smiled and gave him a hug as well. Nathan just placed the basket of treats on the table at the corner of the room. He didn't even come anywhere near her. He just leaned against the wall as he let everyone else greet her.

"What about Percy?"

"He liked the idea of sleeping in for a couple of hours, so he stayed at the café until we returned."

"What an old fart," Tim grumbled.

Haley looked over at him by the window. "I'm surprised to see you here."

He glanced at her nervously. "I wanted to give you this." He pulled out the card he was working on from his pocket. At first he was hesitant about actually giving it to her, but he decided to rake up the courage to do it anyways. So he stepped forward and handed her the card. Haley was confused as he placed it in her hands. She wasn't quite sure what to do with it. It was almost like a love-confession without the whole secret admirer part.

"What's this?"

"My apology," Tim answered.

Haley rubbed her thumb across the card and grinned softly at the thought of it. "Apology for what?"

He cleared his throat and looked up at the guys who were listening carefully.

"Well, it's all in the letter. You just have to read it," he answered.

She let out a small chuckle and placed it in her lap. "I'll read it later," she said.

Tim nodded his head and bit his lip. He was really self conscious about doing things like this in front of the guys. Ever since high school he always wanted to be the cool one. He always had to hold back on the things he liked because he knew Nathan and Clay would think it was lame. Or they'd make fun of him for it. It was so hard trying to be someone he wasn't when he was around them. They were his best friends and he loved them to death, but he felt two inches tall when they were together. Because they were the attractive ones. They were the talented ones. They were the cool ones. And he was just the follower. He only tagged along and pretended to be a part of the cool group. And it wasn't really that fun. But seeing Haley's face, so innocent and kind, made him forget about what Nathan and Clay thought. He was going to do what he wanted because that's how he felt.

"Thank you guys for coming," she added.

"We had to. You scared us last night, you know that?" Clay replied. "I have to admit, I really didn't want to work the rest of the night."

She pouted. "I'm sorry if I worried you guys." Haley looked at each one of them, apologizing to them personally. And each one of them gave her a good response. But the one that she had a hard time looking at was Nathan. It was like he was avoiding any eye contact with her whatsoever. And it was beginning to irritate her.

"It's okay. We're just glad you're fine," Jake stated.

"If it weren't for Nathan you would probably be in a coma or something by now."

"She wouldn't be in a coma!" Clay retorted.

"How do you know that?"

"I just know!"

"You're a musician. Not a doctor."

Haley couldn't help but chuckle at the banter between the two best friends. But then she remembered Clay's performance. She couldn't really remember if she listened to his song or not last night. She blacked out and the next thing she knew she was in a hospital bed. So she just had to ask.

"Oh, how was your performance?"

"You didn't catch it?"

"Obviously she didn't," she heard Nathan mumble from across the room.

She furrowed her eyes at him, curious about his behavior and returned her focus back on Clay.

"Tell me about it."

"It was awesome! The girls were all over me . . ." he went on.

Nathan just sat on the chair at the corner of the room and watched as his co-workers and best friends interacted with the sick girl. He wasn't quite sure what was going on with him. He felt angry and relieved at the same time. It was hard to really define what he was really feeling. All he knew was that it was hard to look at her. But he noticed that she finally developed a little color in her complexion and she was awake unlike yesterday. He didn't even want to remember what she looked like yesterday. He was so frustrated that she would even do that to herself. Maybe that's why he was so mad. Because she did something so reckless and mindless. He couldn't understand it.

* * *

For the next hour, Haley and the guys spent time talking about the rest of open mic night and played a few card games. She even let them have a few of the treats that were placed in the basket Nathan delivered earlier. It was fun finally being able to bond with the guys in this kind of level. But it wasn't fun when Nathan didn't even act like he cared. He looked so mad and annoyed. She couldn't quite figure out why. So she began to wonder if she did anything last night - other than collapsing in the kitchen - that made him so angry.

"Damn it, Clay!" Tim cried out.

"What?"

"You're cheating!"

"No, I'm not!"

"You're just putting cards down!"

"Let's just start over and play fair," Jake stated, gathering all the cards back into one pile.

"I'm going to get some coffee from the cafeteria, anyone want anything?" Nathan questioned, sitting up from the chair.

Haley looked up, finally receiving some eye contact with him, and just stared at him. She wanted to find some kind of answer there, but he turned away after a few seconds of looking at her.

"Can you get me a coke?" Tim called out as he watched Jake deal out the cards.

"I'll have a cup of coffee," Jake stated.

"Okay. I'll be back with them."

"Wait," Clay called out. "I'll come with you. You'll probably need some help with that."

"Thank God!" Tim sighed. "Now we can really play fair."

"I'll be back. And I'll win!" Clay stated before leaving the guys to meet up with Nathan in the hall.

Haley watched as they both vanished from the room and she looked down sadly as Jake gave her some cards. While he was dealing he noticed Haley's sudden change of expression. After placing the last card, he grew curious and asked if she was okay.

"I'm fine," she answered.

"Are you sure?"

"She's sick, Jake. Can't you tell?" Tim cut in as he gathered his cards together.

Jake rolled his eyes and shook his head. He obviously couldn't see what he saw in her face. It wasn't her illness that he was concerned about. Well he was, but there was something in the way she appeared that looked like she was worried about something.

Outside her room and in the cafeteria, Nathan was getting himself some fresh coffee. One for him and one for Jake. Clay approached him from the side holding a two sodas in his hand.

"Hey man," Clay greeted.

He obviously saw how distant Nathan was ever since they arrived. He barely had any interaction with Haley in the past hour. Something was definitely bothering him.

"Hey," Nathan answered dryly.

"What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been sitting in the corner of the room acting like a Jake Jagielski. And you barely said a word to Haley."

"I'm just letting you guys have your time with her. I know how worried you guys were."

"Nate, really? I know you too well to believe that shit." Nathan stopped walking and turned to Clay with a serious face. "You're upset about something. Are you mad at her?"

"I don't know," he uttered.

"You don't know if you're mad at her?"

"I said I don't know."

"Just give me an answer, man because seeing you act all depressed is really annoying. So just get it off your chest and tell me."

Nathan sighed deeply. He really wasn't in the mood to have a heart to heart with his best friend. But he figured Clay wasn't going to give up so he decided just tell him what was on his mind.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to carry her in my arms last night?" Clay shook his head. "You should've seen the way she looked at me. You should've heard her when she said she wasn't feeling good. I didn't know what to do. I never felt so weak and useless than in that moment, Clay. All I wanted to do was get her some help and find her a doctor as quick as I could. And you know what frustrated me the most about it?" Clay just waited for him to answer. "That she would even do this to herself. To let her body get this bad until she dropped dead. Was she that stupid? Was she always this reckless? I always knew she was chaotic and bad luck, but I didn't think she would even think of risking her health like that."

"Nathan, she's fine now," he said. "It was all just bad timing. You know how Haley is. She doesn't want to disappoint you."

"If this was because of me, I cannot forgive her."

"Nathan."

"I've been having trouble trying to understand this."

"What's there to understand? She got sick. She didn't take care of herself. But she's getting better."

"She should've been more careful. If she wasn't so stupid, she wouldn't be lying in there right now."

Clay furrowed his eyes at the way his best friend was acting. He had never see him in such a state before. He was obviously truly concerned about Haley's health like everyone else was. But he felt something else coming out from Nathan's frustration.

**

* * *

**

Alex strutted across the club and looked around for possible suitors for the night and surprisingly found Julian at the bar. She walked past the crowd of sweaty people and made her way towards him.

"Martini, please!" she called out to the bar tender.

Julian took a sip from his beer and glanced at the woman beside him. "Sorry if I'm intruding your home."

Alex sneered. "If that was supposed to be an insult, it was a stupid one."

"I'm just telling you the truth. Where's your pole?"

"Ha ha. You're such a joker, Julian Baker," she responded dryly. She lifted an eyebrow and observed his posture and the way he was slowly drinking down his sorrows. She could tell he was upset about something. "What's up with you?" she questioned.

It took him a while to respond. He was a little hesitant to even speak to her.

"Fine, don't answer. I'm just going to wait here until I receive my martini."

Julian glanced at her and thought that it wouldn't hurt to just spill his thoughts out to her. She was there anyways. It's not like it was going to matter in the future.

"I saw Haley today," he finally said.

Alex turned away from the bartender and looked at him. "Well that's stupid of you," she mumbled, returning her focus back to her martini being made.

"She was in the hospital."

Quickly, she grew concerned and glanced back at Julian. "What? Why?"

"Now you care."

"Well, Haley _was _my best friend for years until recently."

"You weren't much of a best friend half of those years."

She groaned. "Just tell me why she was there."

"She collapsed at the café."

"What!"

"She was sick."

"What an idiot! Why would she still go to work when she's ill?"

"Because she's Haley. She doesn't like letting people down."

Alex sighed. "Still stupid."

"When I was at the hospital, I told her that I wanted her back," Julian stated.

Alex couldn't help but guffaw at that. "She'd never want you back after what you did."

"How many times do I have to tell you? It was both our faults. Look at where we are right now. Neither of us are in her life anymore. We're the bad guys."

Alex groaned and finally received her martini. "My point exactly. She wouldn't want you back."

"That's what she told me, but there's nothing wrong with trying."

"I feel offended right now. You're talking to me about wanting your ex back. The one you cheated on to be with me. And you said you loved me. Make a damn decision, ass hole!"

Julian's jaw tightened and glared at her for a few seconds. He couldn't believe that this was the girl he had fallen for over Haley. She was different from the person he dated for six months.

"I don't even know why I bother."

"She's not going to want you back, Julian. I'm just going to tell you that as a friend."

"Knowing your latest friendship, I wouldn't want to trust you. Especially for a shop lifter."

She scoffed. "I'm just trying to be honest here. But whatever, don't listen to me. Go make a fool of yourself. Who knows, maybe with Haley's kind heart, she'll take you back. But that's a maybe."

"I don't care how long it's going to take me as long as I have her."

Alex rolled her eyes and sipped from her glass.

* * *

A few days later, Haley was finally released from the hospital. Her fever faded away and her complexion was back to normal. Her muscles no longer ached and she could finally work again. She missed working the most. Actually she missed the guys the most. Her family especially. It felt like forever since she set foot in the café or at the Paint Shop. Fortunately, her health was stabilized and she could return to her daily routine again.

"I hope this is the last time I ever see you lying in a hospital bed like that," her mother stated as Haley finally settled herself in the back seat.

"I agree!" Vivian cried out from up front. "Do you know how annoying Mr. Kim gets when all the art pieces aren't in their specific locations? You usually do that before I get there. But since you were sick I had to do it all myself." Haley couldn't help but laugh. "Thank God you're finally able to move your scrawny ass around so you can do all the work."

"Vivvy, the language!" Lydia cried out.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it."

Lydia turned the corner to leave the hospital drive way and stopped at the light. "I'm not too sure if I want you to go back to work immediately. I feel like you're still a little ill."

"Mom, I'm fine now. The doctor said that I healed faster than he expected. And I'm glad. I'm anxious to go back to work."

"I don't know," her mother moaned, pressing on the gas as soon as the light turned green.

Haley sighed and leaned forward to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I promise you that I will take care of myself this time. If I ever get a cough or feel dizzy, I'm going to stay home and drink all the liquids in the fridge excluding the alcohol." Lydia rolled her eyes and smiled. "And I will make sure that I call in to tell my bosses that I am not well enough to work seven hours a day. So don't worry. I've learned my lesson and I will never do that to you again."

Lydia was very touched by those words. It was so good to hear Haley's voice after being stuck in a hospital bed for a couple or days. And it was such a relief that her daughter was able to come back home from the hospital. It was miracle that she came out alive. She knew it was just a high fever that wasn't appropriately cared for, but it reminded her so much of the time her husband was ill. He died of pneumonia because he didn't take care of himself. He was stubborn and refused to admit that he was sick. That's where Haley got her stubbornness from. So when the doctor's said that Haley was so close to getting pneumonia, Lydia's knees grew weak and her heart dropped. She was scared that she was going to lose her daughter the same way she lost her husband. It was like she was experiencing the past all over again. But during that time, pneumonia didn't seem like such a big deal. She figured that it would heal faster and he would get better, but it didn't. Now having Haley survive such an illness was a blessing. She wasn't ready to lose another person she loved. Not yet. Not now.

"I'm glad you're here, honey," her mother whispered.

"I'm glad too," Haley responded back. She turned to Vivian who was avoiding any eye contact with her ever since she climbed into the car. "What about you? Are you glad I'm back, Viv?"

Her little sister shrugged. Vivian was actually sad the whole time Haley was gone. It felt so empty in the mornings when she dressed up for the school. She didn't have her to complain to or mock.. And it was weird not seeing her in a wacky outfit that she just happened to pull out of her closet. She missed her sister. Just like her mother, she was scared to lose her. It was one of those very few times she cried for her Haley.

"Vivvy!" Haley sang as she poked her sister on the shoulder. "You missed me, didn't you?"

"I don't know."

"You did!"

Vivian shrugged. "I guess I did."

"AWW!" Haley squealed. She playfully poked her some more until Vivian snapped and told her to stop.

"Mom, can you tell her to stop bothering me!"

"Haley, sit back down. We're dropping your sister off at school. You know how she gets when her friends are around."

"Oh right, I totally forgot. She's one of the cool kids now," Haley smiled, settling herself back on her seat.

Vivian rolled her eyes and leaned against the mirror as she tried hide her smile. She was so happy Haley was back again.

**

* * *

**

"Mocha Frappuccino and cinnamon scone?" Nathan asked.

The woman nodded her head. He handed her the order and smiled. Then he told her to enjoy her meal and turned around to meet up with Percy at the counter. Before he could make his way there, Tim stopped him.

"Haley just got released today," he stated.

"I know."

"Let's do something special for her tonight."

"Like what?"

"A party!"

"Parties? I like parties!" Clay called out from across the room.

Nathan ignored him and continued to walk to the counter to place the tray back on the stack.

"I don't know."

"It could be just the four of us and her family. Percy can come too if he wants to join, but I'm not sure he'd enjoy it because of his old age and all."

"Hey!" Percy cried out. "I heard that you little rascal."

Tim chuckled and returned his focus back on Nathan. "So what do you think?"

"I guess we can do it."

"Great! Let's do it at your house!"

Nathan settled himself on one of the stools and quickly stared at Tim. "Are you kidding me? That would be a no."

"Your bachelor pad is huge. And it's good enough for a fun get together with all of us."

"I don't think so."

"Come on, Nate. This is for Haley! Besides, I don't think my apartment is good enough for this gathering. Clay's isn't flattering. And I don't even know where the hell Jagielski lives. So that's why your house is the only option."

Nathan groaned and rubbed his chin in frustration. "What about a dinner? That sounds appealing."

"It's not personal that way. It's not like I'm going to invite fifty more people to come. It's just a celebration for Haley's return. Don't you think she deserves one?"

Nathan fiddled with the café cards by the brochure stand when he began to think about Haley. He hadn't seen her since that day at the hospital. He ignored her the whole time which he began to regret for the past couple of days. But it was because he was trying to understand his feelings. He was still frustrated because of her carelessness. Yet, he had to admit, he really did miss her being around. Maybe being the one who saw how bad she was close up was probably what made him feel so antsy to be around her. He saw her in a different state that he never wanted to see her in again. Or it was because he was afraid that he was actually developing something deep for the girl. He didn't want to admit or believe that it was true. But no matter what, he couldn't stop thinking about Haley.

"Fine," he finally answered. "Let's have it at my house. At least we're in a comfortable setting."

"Yes!" Tim exclaimed.

Nathan nodded and glanced at the leftover apron hanging on the hook by the kitchen. Immediately, his mind focused back on the girl who once destroyed his Porsche in the Rosetta's parking lot. Again, he couldn't stop it.

"Tim, I'll be right back," he stated, climbing off the stool.

"What? Where are you going?"

"I have to go clear up a few things."

Tim looked at him puzzled. "Okay," he answered slowly.

"Make sure everything is okay by the time I return."

"Will do, sir!"

Nathan nodded and hurried his way out of the café. Once he vanished out of the door, Percy looked over his shoulder and grinned.

"It's blossoming," he mumbled.

"What did you say?" Tim questioned.

Percy glanced away from the window. "Nothing. Get back to work!"

**

* * *

**

"Haley! I'm going to Mrs. Smith's house to work on the dresses," her mother called out.

"Alright," Haley shouted from the bathroom. She was getting ready to take a nice, warm bubble bath. After lying in bed at the hospital, dreading every minute of it, and eating nasty food, she deserved a therapeutic bath with sweet lavender and vanilla. She was a girl after all.

Lydia grabbed her purse and quickly walked out of the house. She was so late for the appointment that she didn't even lock the door behind her. She just shut it and left, leaving it available for any stranger to walk right inside without having to unlock it.

Haley poured a bunch of soap into the half-way filled bath tub. The bubbles were slowly making hills and hills on top of the water. It made Haley so happy and so excited to finally be able to set foot in a comforting bath of her own. Once the bubbles and water finally reached it's limit, Haley turned off the faucet and began stripping down into absolutely nothing. She grabbed a large towel, wrapped it around her body, and tip toed over to where she plugged in her Ipod. She turned it on to her "relaxing" playlist and jumped in happiness at the sound of the beautiful melodic piano instrumentals. Then she tiptoed back to the tub, dropped her towel and stepped inside, ready to enjoy her relaxing bath.

Nathan parked his Porsche right in front of her house, ready to apologize for his stubborn behavior at the hospital the other day. She didn't say it, but it was obvious that she was annoyed by it. He shouldn't have acted that way especially when she was sick. She needed the comfort. And he didn't give that to her.

He unbuckled his seat belt, climbed out of his Porsche and approached her front door. He door belled a few times, hoping to get some kind of answer, but nothing. So then he knocked a few times, but still no response again.

Inside the bathroom, Haley was already dozing off in the bath. The feel of the water and the soothing sounds of the music relaxed her so much to the point that she was falling into some kind of slumber. She heard a few noises, but she didn't really care. The therapeutic bath was all that she cared about at that moment.

Nathan furrowed his eyes and observed the driveway. Usually there was a car there, but it wasn't this time. Then he pulled his phone out and dialed her number. It rang a few times, but again, no answer. He hung up after he heard the voice mail and shoved his phone back into his pocket. _Where could this girl be? She better not have collapsed again!_

He groaned and decided to see if the door was opened. He clasped the handle and turned it. When he felt it go all the way around without feeling a blockage, he slowly opened it. He took one step inside and immediately starting smelling some kind of lavender scent. He believed it was how their house smelled on a daily basis. It smelled good.

"Haley!" he called out.

Right then, Haley's eyes shot open at the sound of Nathan's voice from outside the door. She wasn't sure if she was hearing things, but she knew it was him.

"Haley!" she heard him cry out again, his voice now even closer than before.

That's when Haley knew that she had to jump out of there to lock the door. She had forgotten to lock it earlier because she didn't think she'd have any visitors. She also didn't think people would walk right in without permission.

"Haley!" he hollered. "Where is that girl?" she heard him mumble.

Quickly, she climbed out of the bath tub and grabbed her towel.. In the middle of trying to wrap it around her, the door swung open, revealing a concerned Nathan. Her eyes quickly widened at the sight of him looking at her in shock. She held the towel tightly around her and ran towards the door to shut it. Once she did, she groaned in embarrassment and slid down the door.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"What the hell are you doing in my house anyways!" she cut in, mortified by the fact that Nathan saw her completely naked. No clothes. No underwear. Not even a leaf covered her private parts. He saw everything.

"Your door was unlocked and you didn't answer your phone so I-," Nathan bit his lip at how completely stunned he was from what just happened. He didn't expect to see her naked. That was the last thing he expected. He felt so ashamed for even peeking. He should've just shut the door at the mere color of her skin, but he just stood there, holding onto the door knob with his eyes glued to her unclothed body. Why? Because he was in shock. Another reason why was because he was a guy who had a perverted mind that he couldn't control. "I'm sorry!" he apologized again.

"You should be sorry!" she snapped, holding her towel tightly around her. "I can't believe you!"

Nathan took in a deep breath and stared at the door way. "I didn't see anything!" he tried to say. But he knew that was a stupid reply. She saw him look at her. And he saw her look at him. There was absolutely no way they could deny it.

She scoffed. "That's such a lie! You stood there for like five seconds. And you can see a lot in just five seconds!"

"Okay, maybe I did. But you left your door open!"

"It still doesn't give you a right to just barge into someone's house and open the bathroom door!"

"Well - I- Let's-" Nathan struggled to even get out a decent sentence because he was so nervous and humiliated by the latest event. "Can we just be mature about this and forget it even happened?"

"How could I be mature when I was the one who was naked!" she screamed.

He scratched the back of his neck and tried to think of a way to resolve this embarrassing problem. "Okay, then - well- Can you just get out of there, please? I came here to talk to you anyways."

"How could I even get out of here after what just happened?" she said through the door, pretending to claw him out. "You looked at me!" she cried.

"I'll just pretend it didn't happen. Okay? There. We solved the problem."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. Pretending wasn't going to make her forget seeing his eyes planted on her boobs. And it was definitely not going to remove the image of her nude body from his mind. She heard that guys think about sex every thirty seconds. It was very possible he could be using her naked image as some kind of mental toy to help pleasure himself. She groaned at the thought and reached over to grab her clothes.

"Stay in the living room, so I can get out of here and change."

"Okay, that's fine."

"Good," she answered, leaning in to place her ear against the door. She wanted to hear foot steps walking down the hall. "Tell me when you're there so I can get out."

Nathan let out a soft chuckle and stepped back to where the living was. Once he made his way there, he sat on one of their couches and glanced at a family portrait on the side table.

"Are you there yet?" he heard her call out.

He leaned in and picked it up to see a better view of it. "Yeah, I'm in the living room."

"Good!"

Nathan observed the four people in the portrait as he heard the creaking sound of the bathroom door from down the hallway. He was tempted to look up, but he was too busy looking at the photograph. It was different from his family portrait that he had hidden in his car. This one looked really casual and free. Because they were laughing and eating together at the park like a real family. Underneath all four of them was a hand sewn blanket with different patterns all over it. In between them was a basket of treats. It was hard to tell what was inside since it was a dark little pit in the opening that was shown. But he could tell there was good food inside. He recognized Haley's mom. She was beautiful with her dirty blonde hair. She looked a lot younger in the picture. Then he saw the two little girls sitting beside her. One was a toddler with a cute floral dress on. It was obvious that it was Vivian. Then there was a cute little girl wearing a jean jumper dress with her hair set into two braided pig tails. He assumed it was Haley. Right behind her was a man. He looked pretty tall for someone who was sitting down. His hair was a little gray but mostly brown. He looked pretty strong and confident. His arms were big and he could tell he really loved his family from the way he had his arm wrapped Haley. He looked like a friendly guy who lived a happy life with a beautiful family. He figured that was Haley's father - someone she rarely talk about or even mentioned.

He placed the photo back down and waited patiently for Haley to return. It didn't take long. He wasn't surprised since he knew Haley wasn't the kind who was very picky about her wardrobe. But when she entered the living room in nothing but a blue tank top and pajama pants, he was shocked. For some odd reason, he thought she looked absolutely stunning. And she didn't look like she was meant to be on that "What Not To Wear" show on TLC anymore.

"What?" she questioned, moving her hand up to her to scrunch up her natural curls.

"Um." He cleared his throat and glanced away for a second. "Nothing."

She was still a little embarrassed, but he said he was going to pretend like it never happened. So she was going to trust those words. Hopefully. But knowing how honest he could be, she wasn't sure if he was going to bring it up again or not.

"Why are you here again?"

"Remember when I visited you at the hospital?"

"You visited me?" she asked. "I don't remember."

He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry if I wasn't acting like I didn't care at all. I was happy that you were okay. I really was. But I was just upset that you would even let yourself get this sick. Why did you even do that to yourself? I never really understood that."

"It's because that's just the kind of person I am. I don't like to disappoint people or let them down."

"But this is your body, Haley. Your health is more important to me - I mean - more important than giving me support or Mr. Kim or Mr. Percy. I am just thankful that you're here to be by my side to help me throughout Chivalry Café. I don't want you to risk anything to do that. I want to be your friend, Haley. I want you to still be here to support me. Okay?"

She stopped playing with her hair and leaned against the arm rest of the nearest couch. She listened intently at the intensity of his voice. Concern could be heard in the tone of it. She knew it was stupid of her to even look past her illness as if it was something that could be fixed over the weekend. It wasn't just a fever with a slight cough, she was practically draining and exhausted and weak. But she let herself go only to support the people she cared for. Still, she disappointed them anyways. She let them down by not taking care of herself.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Just don't do it again. I don't want to have to carry you across the parking lot like that anymore. Do you have any idea how heavy you are for a little person?"

A shy smile appeared on her lips when she noticed how worried he was. It was nice to see Nathan act that way towards her. She found it comforting and warm. To add on to that, she felt something flutter in her stomach. It wasn't her sickness, it was something else. Something way too familiar.

"Thank you for that."

He stopped mumbling to himself and turned to her. "Next time, stay home when you're sick."

"I promise boss!"

He rubbed his hands along his pants and then stood up. "I guess I better go. You can continue your bath or shower. Whatever you were doing before I barged in."

Haley closed her eyes in embarrassment. She thought that subject was gone already, but it obviously wasn't. Time didn't pass long enough for it to disappear.

"Don't worry, I'm done."

He chuckled and stepped out of the living room to walk to the door. She followed. He was about to reach out for the handle when he turned back around. "Oh, Tim's setting up some kind celebration for your return later. He's really serious about this whole 'Be Nice To Haley' thing."

She laughed. "I kind of like it."

She remembered the note he had written for her. After all the guys left that day, she opened the card and read the one paragraph that was written on it. By surprise, his handwriting was actually really pretty for a boy. Tim kept on surprising her. It read:

_Hey Haley! It's me Tim._

_When I heard about your sickness_, _I started to feel guilty for being mean to you these past few months. I shouldn't have acted that way. I guess it was because I wanted Nathan accept me. You know how he is. He doesn't like people disobeying him or making him angry. He always gets what he wants. Just like his Porsche_, _remember_? _Anyways_, _I hope you get better. It's actually nice having you around the café to brighten the room. Even if I didn't show it_, _I enjoyed your company just like everyone else. So in place of all those times I acted grossed out by your presence or made you feel bad_, _I'll be nice to you. It's going to be a whole lot easier on me now. Clay won't stop bugging me about that kiss at the club. If I only remembered it. Get well soon_, _Haley!_

_Tim._

"It will be at my house. I don't know what time he wants it to be, but I'll pick you up if you want me to."

She nodded. "Okay." He mimicked the gesture and turned back around to open the door. "Wait!" she called out. "Do I have to wear something or should I just go as myself?"

Nathan grinned at that statement and looked over his shoulder. "Just go as yourself. I like you better that way."

She nodded and watched as he opened the door to step out. Haley felt a surge of warmth flicker in her chest. No matter what Nathan did - whether he was mad or annoyed- she grew to like him more and more every day. It was like she was peeling the layers off of an onion one by one, revealing someone she was slowly beginning to admire.

Before he could step out, she strode forward and embraced him from behind, startling him in the process. Nathan wasn't sure what to do at the moment. All he knew was that it was nice.

"Thank you for being here," she whispered, her eyes closed, leaning against his taut back. "You're too good to me."

Nathan grinned and glanced down at how her arms were wrapped around his waist. They could both feel the electricity ignite between them as they remained close. He didn't want her to let go. Not even for a second.

"Anytime," he whispered.

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**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Hi my loves! I'm back with my weekly update! I've been trying extra hard to get this chapter done! hehe. I'm almost on Thanksgiving break and just a few more weeks 'til Christmas break which means I will have a lot of time on my hands to write continuously and finish! I'm definitely loving the long reviews. haha They keep thinking because I love reading your thoughts on my writing process and the storyline. I am very blessed and very thankful for the wonderful reviews! I'm glad to see new readers. I hope that I will meet your expectations in the future chapters.

**A few deserving personal replies:**

Thank you **keep the darkness** for that long review - I'm love how_ you love_ pretty much everything in the last chapter. It makes me happy to hear that you (and others) not only love the main pair NH, but you also love the other relationships/friendships in the story. That truly makes me proud. I'm glad you love that "onion" quote. I heard it somewhere a few times and I thought I'd use it. Thank you again honey!** Day Believer -** YAY! I won you over! I know Julian and Haley are a pretty odd pair, but I like to do different things with my characters. It add a fresh approach just like you said. And yeah Nathan's mean,but you know he's a true softy in the inside. hehe. I'm glad that you will be reading some more. I want to hear from you again! Thank you for the precious review! :) **KTxx** - Aw! I put tears in your eyes! Yay! I don't mean that in a mean way, but "yay I brought out some emotions in my readers" kind of way. I'm glad you like the friendships in the story and the quote haha. I thought the Jake comment would fit since his characters is always in his own corner. Thank you for the review love! **Haley Garcia -** I'm glad to be back. I hope I can continue to come back with multiple chapters at a time. I'm trying so hard to reach that goal but school keeps getting in the way lol. I'm so glad to hear what you loved about the last chapter. Nathan's mood is definitely changing from hot and cold in this story huh? It's because of a certain someone. Thank you for the review!

And thank you to all the rest of the people who reviewed/read the last chapter/story.

Now I treat you with a brand new chapter! I hope you like it!

**p.s.! If you haven't figured it out yet. The title of the song was inspired by the song "She's So Lovely" by Scouting for Girls. Give it a listen :)**

Annie

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**Chapter 12 **

Vivian adjusted the pair of dark shades over her eyes and crossed the street after looking left and right. She skipped school during her lunch period to meet up with her friend Whitney at one of the beauty stores downtown. There was a big sale today and it was only during their school hours. She didn't think that was fair because a lot of girls that shopped at that boutique were in high school still. And since it was impossible to ask her mom for permission to stay home, she decided to do what she did best. Skip school.

She spotted Whitney waving at her from the store entrance and smiled. She removed her sunglasses and stuffed them in her purse. As she was doing that, she looked up and found Clay walking around the corner. Her eyes quickly widened and she hid behind the nearest pole. It wasn't the smartest thing she's thought of. But it was all that came up.

"Vivian!" she heard her friend call out.

Clay furrowed his eyes and observed the figure behind the lamp post. He chuckled, glanced at the blonde girl waiting at the store, and then returned his focus back at Vivian.

"Ugh. What's he doing here?" Vivian mumbled to herself.

He made his way towards her, being careful with his bag of food, and craned his head to see her face.

"Vivian?"

She gave him a nervous smile and waved. "Oh hi! I didn't see you there."

He chuckled. "What are you doing here?"

"Um." She glanced at Whitney who was looking at her strangely. "I was just getting something to eat."

"All the way downtown? Don't you have school?"

"Well the best food is here. I'm on my lunch break."

He looked at her curiously. "I didn't think you were allowed off campus during school hours."

"My school allows it," she lied.

Observing her outfit, he noticed that she was wearing a uniform.

"Aren't private schools strict?"

Even though Clay was super attractive and intimidating to the eyes, he really knew how to annoy a girl with all his questions.

"Yeah, but my teachers are pretty lenient."

"Vivian! Come on! The sale!" Whitney hollered.

She tensed up at the voice and tried to avoid any eye contact with the handsome man before her. Clay couldn't help but chuckle. He figured she was lying. He knew very well what she was up to.

"I'll be right there," she yelled back and returned her focus back on Clay. "Please don't tell Haley or my mom."

"Why not? Doesn't she have the right to know what her little sister is doing?"

"Please! I'm begging you!" she pleaded, clasping her hands together tightly and motioning it towards him.

Although he wanted to be loyal to Haley, he didn't want to let Vivian down. She didn't seem like the trouble maker and he really didn't want her to get in trouble. So he let her off the hook.

"I won't tell," he answered. She smiled in happiness. "But if I see you skipping school again, you're in big trouble, missy. You're too smart and pretty to be doing these kinds of things. I don't want to see you parading around the sidewalks, you hear me? "

Vivian found herself smiling at the "pretty and smart" comment and nodded her head excitedly.

"I promise to never skip school."

"Good," Clay answered. "Now hurry over to your friend. She's waiting for you."

"Okay."

He watched as she turned around slowly, blushing from his friendliness. Vivian couldn't believe that dream-boat Clay called her smart and pretty. She's never been so thrilled to hear such words from a guy before. It made her like him even more.

**

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She dragged a brush down her long blonde hair and glanced at the pink bag that was hanging out on the corner of her vanity mirror. She couldn't believe that she even decided to bring it with her when she left the hospital. After arguing with Julian about their rocky relationship, she didn't even want anything to do with it. Even if it was a picture of a happy time in their past, she didn't want it. It was the last thing she wanted. She was over him. He was no longer on her mind until now. She was doing well without him. Or pretending to do well without him. She desperately needed to find some kind of composure.

Looking at her reflection, she stopped brushing her hair and remembered what happened earlier. Nathan barged into the bathroom while she was putting her towel on. She was pretty sure he saw everything. She was struggling to wrap the towel around her body at the time. And he just stood there with his hand on the door knob, dumbfounded by the sight of her nude body right before his eyes.

Immediately disgusted by the thought of that embarrassing moment, she grabbed her jacket to cover up her body, and marched out of her room.

She walked into living room and spotted her shoes laying around by the door. Rushing towards it, she picked one of them up and squeezed her foot inside. She did the same with the other one. Then she glanced up and found her mother working diligently on one of the debut dresses she had been concentrating on for the past week.

Lydia was a really hard worker. Even if she didn't have a stable job like a secretary at an office or a nurse at a hospital, she still worked just as hard as they did. She's busy from morning to night, sewing, patching, designing and hemming dresses. There wasn't a particular shift. She just worked on the time that was available for her. But she had a time limit since she had to get the dresses or suits ready by a certain date.

All of this was for their family. Ever since Haley's father died, they struggled with money. Lydia had to work harder to advertise her personal tailoring career to the neighborhood and the city so that they could earn enough money to pay for rent and the bills. It such a hard time and it still was a hard time for them.

Once Haley was old enough to work, she started applying for various jobs so that her mother wouldn't have to struggle by herself. She worked at a few places to help with the bills. But once Mr. Kim came in, offering her a job that met her artistic needs, she accepted it. And it definitely helped with their money struggles for a bit.

Now that Vivian was finishing her last year of high school, they both had to work twice as hard to get her into the school she wanted because they couldn't do that for Haley. She went to college for a year or two, but stopped because it was beginning to cost too much for them. So she quit and decided to work in order to get her little sister into the college she wanted. Haley didn't care about missing out on college because she thought that Vivian deserved that opportunity more than she did. She was just an artist after all.

"Heading out?" Lydia questioned, looking up from the sewing machine.

"Yeah. Nathan's about to pick me up."

"Be careful, okay? You just got back."

"Don't worry, mom."

"Just in case, bring some medicine with you."

"Mom!"

"Haley. I just want you to be in the best condition possible. Is that wrong?"

"No, but there is no need for me to take any medication right now. I'm fully recovered."

"I don't believe it."

"Well you should because I'm here."

"Haley, just do it if you want to me to stop bothering you."

Haley groaned and shook her head. "Okay, okay."

She walked down the hall towards the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. She searched around for the kind she needed, but the bottle was empty. Shutting the cabinet, she walked back outside and waved the empty container at her mom.

"We ran out of Tylenol."

"Vivian must've used it for her cramps the other day," Lydia mumbled. "Then buy some when Nathan picks you up."

"I don't want Nathan to drive all the way to the store to buy medicine."

"I'm sure he won't mind."

"Mom."

"Haley."

Again, she wasn't going to win this argument. Her mother was going to continue nagging her until she accepted her order. So she stopped and gave in.

"Fine. I'll tell him to bring me to the market."

"Thank you. I just want to make sure you're fully healed. Sometimes those doctor's aren't always right when they read the results."

Haley laughed and walked up to her mother. Leaning in, she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and embraced her tightly into her arms.

"I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lydia responded, patting her daughter's warm hands.

**

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As Nathan was on his way across town to pick up Haley, he drove past one of the bars by the art gallery. Possibly the one where Haley bought her bottle of liquor for that night he found her drunk on the sidewalk. It was already eight o'clock, a little early for the café to close, but they had a pretty good reason.

When he glanced out his window, he found a familiar face sitting on the patio of the restaurant. It was Julian. From where he was, he could see that there was a shot glass in his hands and a bottle of liquor on the table.

"Hmm," Nathan let out.

The guy looked pretty messed up. He couldn't blame him though. He's done a few things that was really stupid and idiotic. Cheating was definitely one of them.

Nathan glanced away from the poor man and continued towards his destination. It took about ten more minutes until he finally arrived at Haley's house. Once he was there, he beeped about three times and waited patiently for her to step outside. He was busy tapping his thumb against the steering wheel when she finally opened the door. By surprise, Haley was actually wearing something decent. It wasn't wacky like her usual jumper, stockings, and patterned shirts she been sporting. And it wasn't slutty or revealing like the dress she wore at the club. She had a black v-neck shirt with a pair of jeans and a floral cardigan. According to Nathan, she looked really pretty. And a hundred times healthier.

"Hey," she greeted, climbing inside the Porsche.

As she shut the door, Nathan noticed the hair tie that he bought in her hair. He grew pleased by the sight and started the engine.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked, buckling her seat belt.

Nathan shook his head and turned away. "Nothing."

"Tell me!"

"Why should I tell you? I can smile when I want to smile."

She furrowed her eyes at him, observing the slight grin on his lips and turned away.

_Why should that jerk be smiling? Was he thinking of me naked again? Oh my gosh. If that boy was thinking about that incident, I'm going to pull his eye balls out!_

Nathan glanced at her one more time and noticed the expression on her face. She looked upset and in her own world. For a second, he thought he even noticed her lips moving as if she was mumbling things to herself.

"What's wrong with you?" he questioned driving out of their street.

"Huh?" she responded, turning to him.

"Why do you look so irritated?" he replied, his eyes now focused on the road.

"It's nothing!" she snapped.

"Are you still mad that I saw you naked earlier?" he asked, acting like it was no big deal.

Her eyes widened, shocked that he actually brought it up.

"I thought you were going to forget that ever happened!"

"Honestly? It's hard to forget those moments. My heart literally stopped for a second."

"You weren't the one naked!"

"Don't make a big fuss about it. There was nothing to see anyways," he stated.

Her eyes widened and scoffed. "I can't believe you just said that!"

She quickly punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

"That's what you get for being such an asshole!"

Nathan rubbed his free hand over the spot she bruised. "Geez, woman! You didn't have to hit so hard. I feel like I'm going to be the next one lying in the hospital. Especially knowing how dangerous you are."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you knock first?"

"I didn't know that you were in there, okay?"

"You shouldn't have walked into our house like it was yours in the first place. I mean who does that?"

Nathan rolled his eyes, and heard his phone ringing from his pocket. He didn't want to look while he was driving down the dark roads, so he glanced at Haley on the side. She looked pretty unoccupied.

"Hey!" he called out.

She turned to him with a blank face. "What?"

"Pull my cell phone out from my pocket and see what it says."

Glancing at his pants, she panicked. "You want me to what?"

"Take my phone out of my pocket."

She made a face at his pants. "Can't you just check it at the next stop light?"

"Haley, it's not that hard to take my phone out. I'm driving and I don't want to be distracted. Just take the phone out of my pocket and tell me what the message says. It's not like I'm going to rape you if you put your hand down my pants."

Haley's eyes widened. "It sounds dirty if you say like that."

"Just do it!"

"Fine."

She rolled her eyes and reached over to pull the phone out from his pocket. It felt kind of awkward for her to putting her hand there. It felt so inappropriate and weird. After finally taking it out, she slid the screen upwards and opened the latest text. It was from Tim.

_Hey! Are you guys on your way? We're slowly getting things together. But Clay keeps burning the pork chops. So no rush! I want this to be perfect for Haley._

She smiled at the message and imagined the boys setting up streamers and food around the house like it was her birthday. It sounded so nice to be able to have friends like them do something so generous and precious for her after being sick for days. Who knew she'd be so lucky to be surrounded by kind men.

"Now why are _you_ smiling?" Nathan asked, glancing at her.

She looked up from the screen. "I can smile whenever I want to smile," she answered, mimicking his exact words from earlier.

Nathan chuckled. "What did it say?"

"It was from Tim. He was just wondering if we were on our way. He said no rush because Clay keeps ruining the food," Haley answered.

"Figures."

"Since things aren't going so well over there, can you drive me somewhere?"

Turning the corner, he looked over at her curiously. "What?"

"Can we stop by the nearest drug store? I have to buy some medicine."

"You don't have any of your own?"

"We ran out. I honestly don't need them, but my mom wanted me to get some just in case I wasn't fully healed yet."

"You're out of the hospital, isn't that enough proof?"

"Well my mom is sort of paranoid right now about my health," she answered. "I'm pretty sure she wants me to come back with some kind of medication. So can we go? It will only take a few minutes."

Nathan sighed deeply and turned away to glance at his side mirror.

"I guess we can go since the food's not ready yet."

"Thank you!" Haley responded, clapping her hands happily.

**

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Nathan parked at by the sidewalk at the nearest drug store.

"I promise I won't take long," Haley stated as she climbed out of the car as quickly as she could. He couldn't even get a word. She had already shut the door. He sighed deeply and leaned back in his seat.

Haley stepped inside the store and glanced at the minimum amount of people who were browsing down the aisles. From the looks of it, the cashiers and employees were absolutely dreading these hours. She couldn't blame them. She would be too if she had to sit behind a counter waiting on nobody for the next three or four hours.

Craning her head, she found the medicine aisle. She quickly made her way there and observed the boxes of medication. There were cramp medicine, cough syrup, diet pills, and other needed essentials. It didn't take long for her to finally find the particular one she needed. So she picked it up and rushed towards the counter where a girl who looked like she was around Vivian's age was standing.

"Is this all?" the blonde questioned, smacking loudly on her piece of gum.

Pulling out her wallet, Haley nodded. "That's all."

She watched as the girl scanned the price off the box and started typing on the cashier. While she was doing that, she glanced outside the window and found Nathan outside his car. The door was open and he was observing his tire. She smiled at the sight of him concentrating intently at the wheel. It was still his baby. Probably always will be.

She laughed.

"That's going to be $4.15."

Haley turned away from the window and pulled out the exact amount from her wallet. Then she placed it on the counter and took another glance outside. When she did, she found a familiar image across the street.

"Have a nice day," the cashier said, dropping the Tylenol into a tiny plastic bag.

"You too." Haley flashed her a smile, grabbed the bag, and quickly walked out of the store.

"Did you get what you needed?" Nathan asked, looking up from his tire.

Haley ignored his question and focused her attention on the sluggishly moving figure across the street. It was man with a bottle of alcohol in his hands. At first, she couldn't figure out who it was, but once his face appeared under the street lights, it was pretty obvious. It was Julian.

"Haley," she heard him moan.

Nathan quickly turned around at the sound of his voice and furrowed his eyes.

"Haley," he moaned again.

"What the hell is he doing?" Haley questioned, looking at the ends of the street to see if any cars were coming.

"I need you," Julian stated. "I want you back."

"Julian get out of the road right now!" Haley panicked. She stepped closer to the sidewalk and tried to force him over with some kind of imaginary rope. That's what it looked like to Nathan.

"Haley, please forgive me."

"Julian! I said get out of the road!" she cried out.

Her ex-fiance stopped dragging his feet on the gravel floor and stood still. Lifting the bottle up in the air, he shook his head. "Not until you forgive me!"

Haley scoffed and tightened her jaw. She couldn't believe Julian was doing this. He was blocking a few of the cars driving by. But they swerved around him. A long line of cars were all waiting at the stop light at the end of the street. If he didn't drag his ass on to the sidewalk, Julian was going to be a dead man.

"Get out of the road, man!" Nathan yelled.

"_You_ butt out of our business!" Julian cried out.

Nathan chuckled in disbelief. He just saw him moping at a bar earlier which was only a couple of blocks away from the drug store they were at now. And here he was walking around the city drunk making a total ass of himself.

"I'm just trying to be nice here. So get off the damn road!" Nathan called out.

"Please!" Haley begged.

"Not until she forgives me!"

"WHAT?" she exclaimed.

"I'm not moving from this spot until that girl forgives me," he answered, pointing at Haley sleepily.

"This is sad, man! Don't force the girl to forgive you by threatening your life!" Nathan called out.

"She said she didn't want me," Julian slurred. "And that hurt. But I'm going to get her back anyways. I'm going to try really hard. Because I love her."

Haley closed her eyes and bit her lip. "Please don't do this."

Nathan glanced at her, observing how she was slowly breaking again. What the hell was he doing to this girl? Loving her. Cheating on her. Breaking her. And then begging for her back? It was unbelievable how one man could do so much damage to a fragile being like Haley. She's been through enough already. And it was because of Julian. It was always because of Julian.

"I LOVE YOU, HALEY!" Julian cried out, waving his arms in the air. As he was doing that, he lost his balance, and fell backwards on his ass. As he did, his bottle broke into pieces beside him. And at the end of the road, appeared a bright light. Haley glanced at it, and then quickly moved her eyes at Julian who was still struggling to get up from the ground. Without even thinking, Haley rushed towards Julian and stood before him, spreading her arms out in attempt to stop the on coming car.

Nathan couldn't believe what she was doing. He couldn't let her get hurt because of someone's irresponsible actions. So he quickly ran after her so that she wouldn't be the one who got hit first. So he wrapped her tightly in his arms, his back to the car, and waited for whatever happened next.

As he held her close, Haley could literally feel his heart pounding against his chest. He was holding her so near, it was impossible for her to not feel it. She wasn't sure what was going on with her or why she was suddenly feeling some kind of strong connection when Nathan was around. But she could tell at that moment that Nathan was scared for her. She felt it. She literally felt it.

From the continuous screeching sounds and loud beeps from around them, they stood in the middle of the street, expecting to get hit. But after a while of holding each other, they opened their eyes to the bright lights and angry drivers.

"What the hell are you ass holes doing!" someone called out from his window.

"Get off the road!"

"PSYCHOS!"

"Sorry!" Nathan called out, his arms still wrapped around Haley.

She slowly looked up at him, stunned to still have him so near. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she started to feel something flicker inside of her chest and pulled apart from him.

Nathan felt their sudden distance and furrowed his eyes at the girl. He watched as she bent down to lift Julian off the street and walked him back onto the sidewalk. He sighed deeply, stressed with worry, and followed them. He waved at everyone again, apologizing for getting in their way.

Haley placed Julian gently on the nearest bench and shook her head at him in disbelief.

"You still care," Julian slurred, struggling to keep his head up.

Haley observed him, unable to respond, when she felt someone pull her by the arm strongly. Twirling around, she found Nathan looking at her with fury and concern.

"Are you stupid? Why the hell did you do that?" he questioned, roughly. "You just got back from the damn hospital! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No," she answered.

"It sure looked like it back there."

"I'm sorry! But Julian wouldn't get off the damn street," she snapped, her eyes set on his dark blues.

"You should've just left him there," Nathan mumbled, roughly letting her arm go.

She scoffed in disbelief. "Are you kidding? Why would I even do that?"

"Isn't the answer obvious? That son-of-a-bitch cheated on you and broke your heart. Now you're going to risk your life to save him?"

"He's still human, Nathan. He still has a family. I'm not going to let him get hit by a car just because he hurt me."

"You're an idiot."

Haley quickly looked at him in shock. "Don't be heartless."

"Have I taught you nothing?" She appeared confused. "You're supposed to get over him. You're supposed to let him go so that you wouldn't have to hurt anymore. You're so up and down. You can't make a damn decision."

"Nathan. Why does it even matter? You heard me at the club. I said that I was done with him. I'm just trying to save a life here and you're making it out to be something completely different."

Nathan sighed in frustration. He couldn't deal with this. It was hard enough dealing with her being stupid about her health, but now he had to worry about her getting killed by a car. He was never going to get a break with this girl. She was selfless. Completely selfless and didn't care about what damages were done to her body.

"You are obviously not over this jerk. You wouldn't have stood right in front of the car for him if you were done. You could've at least pushed him out of the way. But you didn't."

Haley blew out a breath, distraught by his words. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to agree with him or deny everything he just said. She wanted to be done with Julian. She really thought she was. But when she saw him on the street like that, so close to getting hit by a car, she panicked, like she was afraid to lose him. She wasn't completely over him like she thought she was.

Nathan waited for her to respond, but he could tell that she was in her own world. He figured that was her way of saying that she wasn't fully recovered from her heart ache. It was still there. Deep down, he really wanted it to go away. Because he was tired of seeing her so broken. Not because of work, but because it killed him to see her that way.

"Whatever, I'm done talking about this. Let's just go to the house." He looked away and stepped forward to his car. When he reached out to grab the handle of the door, he realized that Haley wasn't following him. He turned around and found her sitting down next to the jerk who caused such a mess. "Are you coming?"

"We can't just leave him here."

Nathan's jaw tightened as he glared at the drunken idiot on the bench.

"I'm not going to bring him anywhere. Let him sleep on the bench."

"Nathan." She gave him the eye.

"You're always getting me into difficult situations, you know that? I just saved both of your lives back there."

"Let's just bring him back home."

He glanced at the sleeping figure on the bench. "He looks pretty comfortable right where he is."

Haley sighed deeply. "I'm not going to feel good if we just leave him here. He could get mugged or something."

"Since you didn't let him get hit by a car, just leave him here," Nathan answered.

"I can't do that."

"Well I can," he stated, reaching out to open his car. "Make a decision quick because I'm ready to go."

Haley groaned, pretending to poke Nathan's eyes out and turned to observe Julian's unconscious state. She scowled at her cheating ex and mumbled a few curse words at him. A few seconds later, his head fell on top of her shoulder causing her to feel immediately disgusted. But seeing him this way was actually very sad. He missed her. Still wanted her. And now that she doesn't want him, he's drowning in his own sorrows. It was like revenge. And she had nothing to do with it. But she felt guilty for making him act this way, making him risk his life like that. She thought it would make her feel better to finally have him regret losing her, but she didn't feel good at all.

"You can go," Haley called to Nathan before he climbed into his car.

He stopped and furrowed his eyes. "What?"

"I said you can go."

"Haley, the guys are waiting for you at the house. You can't let them down."

"Well tell them that I'm sorry."

"Are you serious right now? You're ditching us for _this _guy?" Nathan questioned angrily, pointing at the sluggish figure beside her.

"I can't leave him here by himself," she answered, propping Julian's head up with her shoulder. "Leave us here or bring him home."

Nathan observed her as she let the guy who hurt her lean against her shoulder. It made him feel uneasy to see her this way. To see her want to protect another man. After all those times he's saved her, rescuing her from danger, and keeping her from being so sad all the time, she decided to stay with the one guy who broke her heart. It was unfair. Ridiculous. Heinous. Stupid.

Truthfully, Nathan wanted Haley to pick him over Julian, but she didn't.

"Fine. I'm leaving because I pity you," Nathan stated before getting into his car, slamming the door shut.

Haley's jaw clenched as she felt something hit her like boulder in her chest. She couldn't believe Nathan was going to leave her there like she didn't matter to him. But when she saw him drive off, it was pretty obvious that he wasn't kidding. And that hurt more than anything.

* * *

"Hurry! Put the banner up!" Tim ordered, motioning his hands up to the wall.

Jake stood up from his knees, holding the poster that he had been working on for the past thirty minutes. He wasn't an artistic one, but it was good enough for his eyes. It wasn't good enough for Tim though.

"What the hell is that!" he heard Tim cry out.

Stapling the banner on the wall, Jake looked over his shoulder to see what Tim was talking about.

"What?"

"That 'B' looks like an eight."

Jake observed the poster and tilted his head. "It looks fine to me."

"Well not to me!"

"I think she'll know that it's a 'B' when she reads it."

"She's going to wonder why it says 'Welcome 8-ack!"

Jake rolled his eyes. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"At least try to make it look like a 'B'. Add a straight line."

Clay watched them in amusement from the back yard. He was busy cooking the food on the grill. They were having steak, corn and some links. It was usually what they always had when they came over to Nathan's just to hang out and have a few drinks. The only difference today was that they were putting up excessive decorations for Haley.

"Why are you so serious about this, Tim?" Clay hollered from outside.

"It's for Haley and I like celebrations."

"How come you didn't give me a celebration for my epic performance on open mic night?"

"You're not that special."

Clay scoffed. "And I call you one of my best friends. Ass."

"Shut your trap!"

Right after he said that, the door bell rang. And all three of them turned to it in curiosity.

"Is that them? Jake didn't fix the 'B' yet!"

Jake shook his head.

"Chill, son," Clay called out as he turned off the grill for the moment. "I'll get it."

As he made his way to the door, he swung it open, revealing a pissed off Nathan. He marched right past Clay and threw his keys on the coffee table, startling everyone.

"Where's Haley?" Clay questioned. "And why the hell did you just door bell to your own house?"

Nathan ignored him and stormed to the kitchen, grabbing himself a beer from the fridge.

All the guys looked at each other in curiosity, wondering why Nathan was acting so strange. He was obviously pissed off. It definitely had something to do with Haley since she didn't come in with him.

"I thought you went to pick her up!" Tim shouted.

Nathan walked back into the living room, flopped on the couch and turned on the television to ESPN. He was not in the mood to talk about Haley. He was so frustrated that she would risk her life for the man who completely ruined her and then choose to stay with him instead of spend time with the people who practically became her family.

"What's going on, Nate? Where's Haley?" Clay questioned, walking over to him.

He opened his beer bottle and took a swig from it. "I don't know."

**

* * *

**

"That bastard. I can't believe he just left! And I thought he was finally going to be nice from now on, but I was wrong."

Haley remained sitting at the bench in front of the drug store and glanced at the drunk figure leaning against her shoulder. She sighed deeply at the sight and gently removed his head off from her shoulder. She scooted to the side and placed his head on the bench. His head weighed a lot. And she was tired having him lean on her for help.

"This is all your fault, you know," she spoke. "If you hadn't cheated on me with that slut, Alex, I wouldn't be in this mess. I wouldn't have wrecked a car - that was supposed to be yours by the way- and owe a strange, _arrogan_t man over a hundred thousand dollars. My family wouldn't have to suffer. I wouldn't have to live with this wound you caused me. I wouldn't be sitting on a bench in front of a damn drug store with your pitiful drunk ass by my side."

A few mumbles could be heard from Julian's lips. She was glad that she was able to say those words to him and have him not remember it the next day. It gave her a release of freedom to be able to talk to him and criticize him without getting a response back.

"Don't think just because I'm sitting here with you means that I want you back. Because I don't," she began, turning to him. "People pity me because of you. You caused me so much pain and I don't know how many times I have to tell you that to get it to your head. You know it hasn't been easy for me since we broke up. But you keep rubbing it in my face. Appearing every where. I thought that you didn't want me anymore. You chose someone else. But you kept coming back. You were not considerate of my feelings at all. You're an idiot for cheating on me!" she poked him hard on the head.

"Ow," she heard him moan.

She laughed.

"You're a bastard lawyer." Poke. "You're a dumb ass for threatening your life to get me back." Poke. "And you're a huge dick for making feel like shit." Poke!

"Stop hitting me!" he complained, covering his face with his hands.

She rolled her eyes. "_I'm_ the nice one," she added, pointing to herself. "You should've been proud to have _me_ as your girlfriend because you'd be the only guy I want. Unlike Alex who wants to be with every guy possible. I still can't believe you two morons fooled me for so long. " She sighed deeply. "I didn't want to agree with Nathan when he said that I wasn't completely over you, but he's right. I'm not. I'm slowly getting there though. I don't cry at night. And I'm smiling more." She quickly thought of her family and her co-workers at the café. "So maybe that's why I'm here. Because I still have some kind weird of attachment to you. After all that you've done to me, I don't know why I decided to stay. But don't think much of it. I still don't want you back."

Haley stood up from the bench and decided to wave for a taxi. After a few passed, one finally parked at the curb. She hurriedly grabbed Julian and wrapped his arms around her. Then she gently placed him inside and she followed.

**

* * *

**

Tim sat across from Nathan in the living room, glaring at him for the past thirty minutes. He wanted to try to eye him down to get the details out of him but Nathan wouldn't budge. It was obvious that he was pissed off. Something happened between him and Haley and he wanted to know what it was about. Tim set this whole thing up for her and she wasn't even there.

Nathan took a sip from his beer bottle and took a second to look at Tim.

"Why are you still sitting there?" he questioned. "Your guest of honor is not going to show up so clean up the mess you made in my house."

Tim slammed his fist on the coffee table, startling everyone in the room. "Where is Haley? What did you do?"

Nathan's eyes widened. "What did I do? I didn't do anything!"

"Yes you did! You were supposed to pick her up, but she's not here!" Suddenly Tim thought of something. "Did you murder her and throw her in a river!"

Nathan groaned and placed his bottle on the coffee table. "Yes, Tim. That's what I did. Now leave!"

"Seriously, Nate. What happened to Haley?" Clay questioned by the glass door.

"Didn't I say leave?"

"We're just wondering why Haley's not here. So why don't you just tell us?" Jake demanded from his place against the wall.

Nathan's jaw tightened. "If you guys are so worried about your precious Haley then go find her. She's somewhere downtown."

"You left her downtown by herself?" Tim exclaimed.

"Did I say she was by herself?"

Jake furrowed his eyes. "Who is she with?"

The vivid picture Haley sitting with Julian on the bench came to mind. "A drunk."

Clay's eyes widened. "You left her with a drunk! Are you an idiot?"

"She's the idiot."

"Well you're the asshole," Jake commented. "I'm going to go find Haley." He turned around to grab his jacket from the couch and headed towards the door.

"I'll come with you," Tim called out, following him.

Nathan waited for Clay to do the same thing, but he stayed for a bit to talk to him. They heard the front door shut and Nathan returned his focus back on the TV screen.

"That Jagielski kid really knows how to be a super hero," Nathan mumbled, grabbing his bottle from the coffee table. "If he calls me an asshole again I'm going to fire him."

Clay shook his head at his best friend and took a step forward. "Why the hell are you acting like this, Nate? Did something happen between you and Haley to make you leave her like that?"

"It's really none of your business."

"We're best friends. We're supposed to tell each other everything. But lately, you've been holding back. Why is that?"

Nathan took a swig from his beer and fixed his eyes on the TV screen. He looked like he was paying attention to it, but in reality he wasn't. The reason why he's been holding back was because his mind was focused on something else. Something that he wasn't quite clear or positive about to tell anybody. _Haley_. He was starting to feel guilty for leaving her like that on the street. He should've stayed with her and brought Julian home. But he didn't want anything to do with that guy. He hurt Haley. And Nathan didn't want to help the guy who damaged her. He couldn't let himself do that. Because anybody who did any harm to him or to anyone he cared about, deserved to be punished.

_That's what Haley wanted_,_ right? To make Julian pay for what he's done to her? She had the chance to give him the revenge that he needed. So why did she decide to help him? He hurt her the most. She didn't want to punish him. I don't understand that._

"Just go find her," Nathan ordered.

"Nate."

"I said go find her," he snapped.

Clay looked away in disbelief and nodded his head. "Whatever it is man, tell me soon." He walked out the door, shutting the door behind him, and left Nathan alone with his own thoughts.

**

* * *

**

Haley held her coat tightly to herself as she walked to wherever she needed to go. Home? It was too early. The café? No one was there. Nathan's? Who knows. She was just a couple of blocks away from Julian's house where she dropped him off on his porch. There was no key in his pockets or hidden under a rug or vase. There was no way she was going to bring him home. He wasn't worth it. So she thought about what Nathan said - leaving him at the bench. It was revenge. Something that he deserved. Placing him right in front of his house door was close enough.

She kicked a few rocks out of the way and drew out a long breath, the air appearing like smoke. Then she heard her phone ringing. She stopped and pulled it out of her pocket to see who it was.

"Vivian?"

"Where are you?"

"Why?"

"Because . . ." Vivian looked around her and smiled at Clay who was standing beside her. She was downtown at the time eating with her friends and Whitney when the guys spotted her. "The guys from the café are wondering where you went."

Haley furrowed her eyes. "How do you know that?"

"Because there here with me right now."

"At the house?"

"No, I'm outside of a restaurant."

"What are you doing there? You haven't been home all day! Don't tell me you're spending money again!"

Vivian groaned at her sister for being an old grouch. "Don't worry about that. Just tell me where you are. The guys want to know if you're fine."

Haley sighed heavily. "I'm fine."

"Ask her where she is!" Tim begged, jumping beside Vivian.

"Get off me!"

Haley let out a soft chuckle at the commotion in the background. "Tell them I'm fine and not to worry."

"She said she-"

"No. We're picking her up and bringing her back to Nathan's to have her welcome back party. We're not taking no for an answer!" Tim shouted.

Vivian scowled at Tim and pushed him away. "You heard him," she said, returning back to the phone call.

_Why would I want to go there and see that jerk off's face? He left me on the street like his precious Porsche. Why would he do that? He was willing to help me when I was drunk on the sidewalk, but not for Julian? He hated me then. What was the difference now?_

She sighed deeply and glanced at the street signs. "I'm near Julian's house on 32nd street."

**

* * *

**

"Why did they choose Clay to cook?" Nathan questioned himself as he picked the burnt pieces of meat off the grill. He peeled them off and placed them in a plastic bag.

The whole place was set up with streamers that Tim bought himself and Nathan didn't want it there anymore. He figured they weren't going to come back, so there was no point in having decorations up. So he spent his time cleaning up all the clutter that was left in his house.

While putting each piece of meat into the bag, he heard the door bell ring. He stopped and placed the bag on the patio chair. Then he walked over to the door, wondering who could be visiting him at this time.

Once he swung the door open, he saw Haley being shoved into him by his best friends. Fighting for balance, they both stumbled on their feet and fell on the floor. Haley landing right on top of him in shock. Not only did she land on top of him, her lips accidentally found their way on top of his. Surprising everyone, including themselves, in the process.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Greetings loves! First of all, I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving last week had a good one! And Happy DECEMBER! It's almost time for the holidays which means school is almost over, shopping malls are packed with people, and joyful happiness for the rest of the year. I am back with another chapter. Sorry for the delay. It was supposed to be updated last week, but Thanksgiving break took over.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. They are always good to read. You guys are all truly motivating and inspiring. **HaleyGarcia** - I now officially feel complete now that I know I'm one of your favorite authors. *huge Percy hug for you!* I feel honored. Thank you love! **Christina** - Love! I missed you! I hope you had a good holiday. And I hopefully you're okay! We had a tornado warning a couple of days ago but it passed. Thank God. I'm glad to see your reviews again. They always make me happy:) **Babycakes**- It still stuns me to this day that you've been such a good and loyal reader to me for years now. I think I officially started writing stories on the othcentral board since middle school and now I'm on my second year of college. That's just so crazy how that happens. I'm so thankful to have you as part of my audience of readers. I'm still very shocked. I'm glad you're liking the story. I appreciate all the kinds and motivating words. As always,love you babycakes!

And to the rest of you who all reviewed,thank you again! I love hearing from you. :) I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Annie

* * *

**Chapter 13**

"So how long are you two going to lie there?" Tim questioned, taking a step forward into the house, the rest of the guys following him.

Immediately, Nathan shoved Haley off of him and turned around to wipe his mouth which had been throbbing ever since she fell on top of him. From the image of blood smeared on the back of his hand, he realized that he busted his lip.

"Damn it Haley!" Nathan cried out. "Look what you did!"

"What?"

She stood up from the floor, dusted the dirt off her pants and looked at him curiously. Glancing at the little blood on his lip, her eyes widened and quickly strode forward to apologize.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen. Tim pushed me. I- I- didn't -Let me take a look at it!" She reached her hand over towards his mouth to wipe it off, but Nathan pushed her away before she could get too close.

"Don't touch me," he ordered. "You've done enough already."

She scoffed in disbelief. "Well excuse me for trying to be NICE!"

Nathan licked the blood off his lip and groaned. "You have the tendency to be nice."

"Is that wrong? It's better than being a big ass hole like you!"

His jaw tightened and gave her a dirty look. "Tim get me some ice!"

"That was an accident by the way," she pointed out.

"Who lands on people's lips?"

"It's not like I did it on purpose!" she retorted. "I just happened to be pushed into you, knocked you down and fell on your lips. Purely accidental!"

"Right."

"Don't you dare act like I've done something wrong when you're the one who left me on the damn street earlier!"

Tim handed him a bag of ice and Nathan placed it on his busted lip.

"Why do you two always have to fight? The reason I pushed Haley into you was to get you to reconcile, but it obviously made it worse," Tim stated.

"It's his fault!"

"It's her fault!"

They both cried out in unison and gave each other a dirty stare.

"So much for your party, Tim," Clay stated as he relaxed against the couch.

"What do you mean so much for my party?" Tim quickly stepped next to Haley and grabbed her hand. "Let's have a few drinks. Maybe that will ease your anger a little bit."

"I'm not really in the mood for anything."

He dragged her to the couch and pushed her down. "No no. We're going to celebrate your return whether you and Nathan like it or not. I'm going to grab the drinks, so stay here. Don't leave."

Haley sighed deeply and bit her lip. She couldn't refuse. Tim was actually sticking to his word about being nice to her. She couldn't let that moment pass. It was sweet of him to even think about setting up a little party for her return. So she hesitantly nodded and watched as Tim happily ran around the corner to the kitchen to grab the drinks.

She watched as Nathan rolled his eyes and marched out to the backyard patio, still frustrated about what happened. Haley pretended to claw his head off and crossed her arms roughly.

"I don't mean to barge into your business, Haley, but what happened between you two back there?" Clay questioned, leaning forward on his knees.

She glanced at him and remembered the street incident and the choice she was given. Nathan looked pretty mad at her when she decided to stay with Julian. It was as if she had stabbed a long dagger through his chest. Like he was betrayed. But Haley had no choice but to stay with Julian. Her instincts were telling her to stay and she always did what she felt was right. Nathan had a choice too. Unfortunately, he didn't choose the right one.

"I was given a choice to leave the drunken fool or stay. I decided to stay and Nathan left," she answered.

"Did you know this drunk?"

"It was my ex," Haley admitted. "I couldn't leave him alone on the street like that. I wanted Nathan to bring him home, but he refused. I either had to stay or leave him."

"So you chose to stay?"

"Yeah. What else could I have done? Nathan wasn't going to bring him home. Plus, I'm not the kind of person who leaves people behind. It's just not who I am. Good or bad, people need help sometimes."

Nathan was leaning against the brick wall outside as he listened intently to the conversation she was having with Clay.

Clay wrapped an arm around Haley and patted her shoulder gently.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I think this world needs more people like you. I think it would be a much better place."

Haley smiled shyly.

"Don't be modest." Clay playfully poked her button nose. "I'm telling you the truth."

"I got the drinks!" Tim called out, carrying a bunch of bottles and some glasses in his arms.

"You were even nice to Dim when he was rude to you," Clay added.

"I said I was changing my ways!" Tim cried out.

Jake joined in with the rest of the group as Tim and Clay started setting up the table.

"Let's just hope he sticks with it," Jake stated.

"I will! I promise!"

Haley laughed as Jake handed her a shot glass and poured some of the wine into it. Then she glanced over her shoulder to see what her arrogant boss was doing. She could see the side of his body against the wall, the packet of ice still on his lip. It was obvious that Nathan was pretty upset with her. She put the guy through so much already.

After all that effort of helping her become a woman and forgetting her ex, she still chose Julian. He felt betrayed and stupid for even trying to give the girl a lesson on how to forget a past love. Somehow he had a feeling that she'd choose him over Julian because he thought they were close. But obviously they weren't.

So for the rest of the night, everyone except Nathan celebrated together drinking and joking around like a bunch of fools. He just sat to the side, once again, as he watched the three men play drinking games with the girl he couldn't stop thinking about.

"To Haley's return!" Tim announced, raising a glass in the air. He was seriously wasted.

"How many times do you have to say that?" Clay questioned, pulling his arm back down.

"This many." Tim looked at his hands and slowly started counting his fingers. He wasn't quite sure why he was even counting. After giving up, he started laughing.

Haley giggled on the side. "Thank you, Tim. I really appreciate the party."

"Anything for you," Tim smiled, leaning forward with puckered lips.

Nathan's eyes widened at the sight and got ready to stop him, but Haley beat him to it. Her hand was already sluggishly pushing his face away. So he sat back down on the chair and watched them act like idiots. Haley was already tipsy, but she was still aware of everyone's actions.

"Don't kiss me though," she warned.

"Yeah, hands off my woman," Clay cried out.

"I'm nobody's woman," Haley cried out. "I'm my own person!"

Jake was on the other side of Tim, watching Haley carefully, to make sure that she didn't do anything that was reckless. He's never seen her so drunk before. It was weird because he didn't think she was the type of person who would get wasted.

"I think you've had enough," Jake stated, reaching over to take the shot glass away from Haley's possession.

"No," Nathan demanded. "Let her keep drinking. This is her party."

He turned around to look at his boss who had been sitting on the couch watching TV while they dank. "Don't you think she needs to go back home?" Jake questioned.

"She's a grown woman. She knows how to make her own decisions," Nathan answered, still holding a grudge against her. "Right, Haley?"

Quickly, Haley put her glass down and glared at Nathan. "You shut your face hole!"

Nathan chuckled. "Here it goes," he mumbled.

"You-you-know what? I thought we w-were friends. But you abandoned me like him," she began. "How could you do that to me?"

Nathan stopped smirking and observed the expression on her face. She was serious even though she was slightly drunk.

She continued. "You knew how much he hurt me. And you left me with him. I didn't stay with him because I still loved him. I stayed with him because I didn't want him to feel the same pain he caused me. No matter how much I want to make him feel useless and awful, I can't do it. I just can't. I wanted you to stay, but you didn't. So maybe I made the wrong choice for you, but you made the wrong choice for me."

Nathan sighed as he continued looking at her now watery eyes. All the anger that he had for her suddenly disappeared and he was slowly feeling guilty for what he had done to her. She really had a way with words when she was drunk.

A few seconds later, they could hear clapping coming from Tim.

"Wow," he gasped, sluggishly. "That was a good performance!"

Nathan and Jake furrowed their eyes at him. Haley nervously laughed it off and wiped the oncoming tears from her eyes. She was still drunk which meant that there was a possibility that she wasn't going to remember the words she just blurted out.

Next thing they all knew, she grabbed her shot glass of alcohol and drank it quickly.

Jake smiled comfortingly at Haley and glanced over at Nathan who was now leaning back against the chair with a distant look in his eyes - as if he was thinking and analyzing the words Haley just said to him. Jake figured that Nathan knew a lot about what happened to Haley and the pain she was going through. And to know that his boss knew all about it, he still had the nerve to leave her. But he could tell that Nathan was regretting his actions.

Slowly as the night flew by, the three pigs and Goldilocks were knocked out, leaving them sprawled out on the floor. Nathan was busy watching a documentary on Michael Jordan's basket ball career while lying on the couch when he heard a loud snore coming from the floor. He glanced down and found Tim wiggling his nose vigorously. Then he watched as he turned around and placed his arm around Haley's waist, whom was lying right next to him.

Nathan's eyes immediately widened and climbed off the couch. He gently removed Tim's arm from around her waist, careful not to wake both of them, and rolled him the other way; his arm now wrapped around Jake's waist. He chuckled when his best friend cuddled against Jake's body with a smile on his face.

"I always knew he swung that way," Nathan mumbled.

He heard a high moan beside him and he glanced at Haley's sleeping figure. The last time he saw her this way was when he placed her on his couch upstairs after finding her drunk on the street. She looked absolutely horrid that night with her make up smeared all over her face because she had been crying. Crying over that jerk. But right now, lying on the floor right next to him, her face free of make up and tears, she surprisingly looked even more beautiful than before.

Nathan reached over to push a lock of her hair away from her eyes and sighed at her innocent face. For some reason he had to catch his breath. He didn't think the girl could be so admirable by many. Tim, Clay, Jake, Percy. Even Julian still had a deep love for her despite his decisions. He had to admit, Haley was really getting to him. She really had a good heart and it was affecting him greatly.

* * *

Julian groaned as his eyes fluttered open, feeling a painful ache on his neck. He looked around him and found himself on his porch. He sat up and winced from the sunlight that was burning his eyes.

"What the hell? How did I get here?" he questioned.

Julian dug through his pockets to find his keys, but they weren't there. Then he began searching around him to see if he had dropped it, but nothing familiar was in sight. Immediately, he began to panic. He couldn't recall anything from last night. He had no clue who brought him here. Where his car was. Where his keys were. He was lost and confused.

Quickly, he pulled his phone out which was luckily still in his pocket and found a new text message in his inbox. It was from Haley from last night. He grew curious. He wanted to know why she was randomly texting him.

When he opened it, it said:

_Julian. You were you a drunken fool last night. I saved your ass and brought you home. But I couldn't find your keys so I just left you on the porch. Be thankful that you're still alive. _

A smile suddenly appeared on his lips and he closed his phone. Whatever happened last night, it obviously brought Haley back into his life somehow which was he wanted. He may have made a fool of himself, but it gave him the opportunity to let the girl of his dreams take care of him.

He sighed deeply and leaned against his door. Then all of a sudden he heard something roaring down the street which worsened his head ache. He winced and craned his neck out to see what it was. It was the garbage truck.

"Damn it," he groaned. And he remembered that he still had no key to get inside. The only person he knew who had a spare key was Alex. She was the only way he could get in his house. He could try to break a window to get in, but he had an alarm set up which eliminates that solution. He didn't want to call Alex or even ask for her help considering the fact that they were completely wrong for each other in the first place. But Alex was the only choice.

He quickly scrolled to her name in his phone and called her. After the third ring she finally answered.

"What?" she cried out.

Julian cringed.

"I want my house key back."

"Your what?"

"House key. You know the one I gave you while we were together. It's that silver gadget that you put in a hole of a door."

"I am not retarded."

"Just hurry up and give me my key. I'm locked out of my house."

He heard a slight chuckle from her side of the line. "How did you manage that?"

"I don't even know. Just get here."

"Fine, cranky!"

* * *

Haley turned over on the hardwood floor when she hit something soft. Her eyes slowly opened and found herself with the image of Tim's open mouth right next to her. She immediately sat up, and observed her surroundings. Tim was lying next to her, snoring like a pig, with his arm wrapped around Jake's waist. She chuckled at the sight and then looked further and found a shirtless Clay passed out with a pillow between his legs.

"I didn't go home?" she whispered to herself in panic. "I stayed the night with four guys? Oh my gosh. That's so not like me," she gasped, grasping the sides of her head in shock.

She glanced at her watch and realized that she had an hour until she had to go to work. So she slowly stood up from the floor to go to the restroom, but when she was about to leave, Tim reached out to grab her ankle; scaring her completely.

"Chicken," he moaned.

Her eyes furrowed and tried to wiggle her foot from his grasp, but he wouldn't budge, so she knelt down to peel his fingers off one by one. It was pretty easy since he was still sleeping and he wasn't aware of his strength. So once she finished doing that, she hurried to the rest room, leaving the door open.

She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face.

"My mother is going to be so pissed off if she knew I spent the night with boys. Boys!" she mumbled as she grabbed a clean towel and started drying her face. "This is not good. I was supposed to go home. I was supposed to go home, but-"

She groaned and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her focus immediately targeted her lips - the lips that once touched Nathan's. She swallowed the lump in her throat after recalling that incident. Like she repeatedly stated the whole night, it was a complete and utter accident. If Tim hadn't pushed her inside, she wouldn't have landed on him. She had no clue how her lips ended up on his, it just happened. Gravity just happened to make her kiss him. But she didn't want to call it a kiss. Or maybe she wanted it to be a kiss. It was startling. Surprising. It was nothing compared to the one Tim spontaneously gave her at the club. Tim's kiss gave her a grossed out-brotherly feeling while Nathan's kiss - correction- lips gave her a sweet sensation that electrified her body from her head all the way down to her toes. But she knew Nathan didn't want her that way. She wasn't his type because she remembered him saying that he didn't like girls with pitiful love lives. He was referring to her.

Suddenly she heard foot steps coming near the bathroom. She quickly found herself hiding behind the door. She had no clue why she was even hiding. The people in this house knew she was there. It was probably because she was a little surprised that she actually stayed at all.

She held her breath and prayed that he didn't notice her hiding behind the door. It was Nathan. He was only in a pair of basketball shorts and nothing else. Just like Clay, he was shirtless which totally exposed his chiseled body. From Haley's view, all she could see was his back, but it was still mesmerizing.

As soon as she saw Nathan slightly pull his pants down to pee, Haley's eyes widened and she looked away. She felt like a creeper hiding behind the door like that. She always managed to get herself in the most awkward and horrid situations.

Once Nathan flushed the toilet and finished washing his hands, he finally left, giving Haley the chance to breathe properly. She stepped out of the bathroom and let out a heavy sigh. She leaned against the counter and noticed a watch on the side of the sink. She picked it up and observed the brand. A few seconds later, Nathan came barging in to get it. Both startled by each other's presence.

"When - how - where- how did you get here?" Nathan questioned, surprised. "I didn't see you walk down the hall. "

"I -uh-," Haley began. "Did you forget this?" she questioned, holding his watch out to her.

"Yeah?" he answered, giving her a suspicious stare.

"Well here you go." She placed the watch in his hand and smiled nervously. "Bye."

She pushed her way past him and hurried down the hall to escape the tension and awkwardness of the situation. But Nathan grabbed her wrist before she could escape and pulled her back to him.

"Wait."

Haley found her self in front of him, his grip still around her wrist. "What?"

"About yesterday," he began.

She observed the tiny cut on his lip and she cringed. "Can we not talk about it?"

He figured she wasn't going to forgive him so easily. After everything she's been through and after all the apologies she's been given, she was probably tired of forgiving people. So he decided that he'd just let time heal it.

"Okay," he whispered.

"I better get home," she replied. "My mother's probably worried about me."

He nodded as he released her and watched her walk down the hall back in to the living room.

* * *

Jake began preparing the tables for the upcoming day at the cafe. After being kicked out of Nathan's house by Nathan himself, he was ready to have Haley back at work again. He couldn't stand being around Tim and Clay anymore. Those two were just a bunch of idiots roaming around the café like it was a playground. Having Haley around made it a lot easier to handle.

"Where's Nathan?" Tim questioned, tying his black apron around his waist.

"Probably still cleaning the blood off his lips after Haley kissed him," Clay smirked, pouring a new container with coffee beans.

"It wasn't a kiss," Jake corrected, removing the chairs off the tables.

"It looked like a kiss to me. There was definitely lip to lip action."

"Tim pushed her into him."

"It doesn't matter. A kiss is still a kiss no matter if it was intentional or not," Clay stated, his focus only on the coffee beans. "I think behind all that bickering, they actually like each other."

Jake immediately stiffened at the thought of the two actually being together. He figured there was some chemistry between them since they always found a way to meet up with each other. Especially after figuring out that Haley's been leaning against Nathan to heal her pain. There was no way he was going to let his chance slide. He wanted to protect her. Unlike Nathan, he wasn't going to abandon her.

"Nathan liking Haley? Impossible," Tim laughed. "Do you see how that guy treats her?"

"Haven't you heard? When someone is mean to you it means they like you," Clay smiled.

"I agree with Tim. It's impossible," Jake put in.

"What are you kids talking about?" Percy questioned, walking in from the kitchen. He had just finished washing his hands to prepare for the day. He was secretly listening and he couldn't believe how naïve those boys were. He could tell what was happening between the two bickering birds. But Clay was definitely on the right path. He's not as dumb as he makes himself out to be.

"Were you listening to us, old man?" Tim answered, leaning against the counter where Percy was now standing behind.

"I'm not deaf."

"Are you sure? Cause I always thought you were."

Percy gave the boy a dirty look and sighed deeply to himself and began preparing the coffee maker.

"I was just telling them that I think Nathan and Haley like each other," Clay stated. "These two dimwits don't think they do though."

Percy smirked a little bit, but quickly erased it. He didn't want to look too obvious. He always had a feeling that Haley and Nathan were gradually becoming something. Even if they didn't know it, it was pretty obvious that whatever they had was really strong. Percy was just waiting for something to happen so that he didn't have to see them continue to deny it every day.

"But if they don't like each other, I won't be mad," Clay added. "Haley's actually mine anyways."

He smiled playfully.

Tim quickly threw a rag at him. "I object to that! Haley's too good for you."

Jake looked at both of the boys and shook his head. "She's too good for any of you," he whispered, low enough for no one to hear.

"Wow, look who's talking'. You're the guy who criticized her and hated her from the beginning."

"I've changed my ways."

"Bipolar is more like it. And by the way, I think you tried to kiss her again last night," he laughed.

Tim snarled at Clay and ignored him. "Old fart, where's Nathan anyways?" Tim questioned.

"His father called him up for a quick meeting before work."

* * *

Nathan observed his lip in the mirror of his father's office and groaned at the cause of the wound on his mouth. He was having mixed emotions again. His mind wasn't just focused on the cut he had, he was actually stunned by the spark he felt when their lips touched. He clearly couldn't show any sign of surprise because his boys were in the room, but there was definitely a spark. Even if he understood what was going with him, he couldn't accept it.

He stopped thinking when he heard the door open - revealing his father in a dark business suit. Nathan turned away and walked over to the chair where he sat in a few months ago when his father asked him to manage the café. Knowing how this was all set up, he wasn't sure what to expect next.

Dan settled into his seat and gave his son a blank look.

"Why'd you call me here for? To scold me on my average managing skills?" Nathan complained.

"No."

"Then what? You want me to manage another run down café?"

Dan let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. He was very amused by his inexperienced son's attitude.

"With the way you've been handling the cafe, that would be a no."

"Then what's with this one-on-one meeting you called me for?"

Dan coughed, laced his hands together and leaned forward in his desk. Nathan figured this was serious.

"The annual winter business party is coming up."

Nathan lifted his eyebrows up. "And so?"

"Son, you're finally a part of the business which means you must attend all the important events that this company calls for. It's mandatory."

"So you want me to attend this business party? Fine, I'll go."

"It's not just any party, Nate. Not like any of your island trip extravaganzas or sloppy drunk nights. This is a serious business party with important people who are attending. Investors. Other company owners. Managers. High-leveled employees. Representatives. Since Chivalry café is under the name of our company, you have the responsibility of giving us a good reputation. You must converse with other people and talk about the café. There will be a lot of hand shaking especially when it comes to networking."

"Hand shaking? Networking? "

"This party is for you, son."

Nathan's eyes furrowed and he leaned forward in curiosity. "What? For me?"

"The café specifically. The focus of this party is to advertise the business to our mutual friends and business partners. Food companies might even be interested in being a sister business with the café which will definitely increase the sales and our markets. You know? This is a serious matter."

"When you gave me this job, I didn't think it was going to be so serious."

"What did you think it was going to be? All play and no work?"

Nathan sighed deeply as he heard his father speak. He was talking to him like a failed son again - always the party boy and never the above average boy.

"I'm giving you an opportunity here to show me that you're actually working, Nate. Like I've said before, you've had your fun and games. It's time to work now."

**

* * *

**

Vivian smiled as she applied her brand new lipstick on that she bought from the sale yesterday. No one knew that she skipped school. No one except Clay. He promised that he wouldn't tell Haley or her mom, so she trusted his words. How could she resist his charm anyways? Knowing that they have a secret of their own, meant only for the two of them, she fell even more in love with the guy even if they did have a huge age gap. She was going to use her new make up kit to impress him - to show him that she was mature enough to be his girlfriend.

"Where did you get that?" Haley questioned causing Vivian to ruin her lipstick.

Vivian groaned as her sister stepped forward to grab the object from her hands.

"Whitney let me borrow it," Vivian lied.

"Whitney let you borrow all of this?" Haley questioned.

Vivian's throat became dry. "Yeah," she answered.

"I didn't think she was that generous. What happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?"

"What made her change?"

"That's a good question," Vivian answered, placing her lipstick back into the case and closed it. "I'll give you an answer when I get back. I have to hurry and go to school. Bye!"

She quickly placed it inside her back pack and grabbed her purse then jetted out of the room towards the front door. But then she stopped and turned back around. She pulled out her lipstick and handed it to her older sister.

"Use this, you have a bruise on your lip, cover it up! Bye again!"

Haley's eyes furrowed, refusing to follow the delinquent, and waited until she heard the door shut. Then she tilted her head and began to wonder why she was acting so strange as if she had done something wrong. But she ignored it. Haley had other issues on her mind to think about. She glanced at herself in the mirror and found a tiny bruise on her lip that she didn't see before. It surprised her because she didn't think she got wounded by their lip crash at all. She groaned and hurried out as well to go to work at the _Paint Shop_.

* * *

"When is the business party again?" Percy questioned, brewing a new pot.

"Next week," Nathan answered as he sipped from his cup of coffee.

"Party? Sounds good to me," Tim butted in, placing his tray on the counter.

"It's not that kind of party, Tim. It's the serious type."

"Still, I want to go."

"Then find a date and get a suit to wear because that's what you need."

"A date and a suit! Now how am I going to get all that by next week?"

"Craigslist," Nathan joked.

Tim made a face at him. "Is that where you found yours?"

"The hell? I will never resort to Craigslist to find a date. Do you know how many creepy people go on there?"

"Then why did you tell me to go there?"

"I thought it was more your style."

Tim groaned and placed a hand on Nathan's shoulder. Looking at Percy, he said, "And this is someone I call my best friend."

Percy laughed and continued brewing his coffee.

"So your father is really serious about you working for the company, isn't he?"

"I guess," Nathan answered. "He's really putting a lot of pressure on me. I have to give the company a good reputation with this cafe, so he says."

"It's doing well so far."

"Maybe so."

"You can do it, Nate," Tim said. "I know you can. Look at the place."

"My dad wants to see improvement in the next three months. He wants to see triple the sales and if we can't do that, he's going to shut the café down."

"What?" Percy snapped. "Shut it down?"

"We started this place just a few months ago. How can he shut it down so early?" Tim questioned.

"See, that's the catch. It won't shut down if we triple the sales," Nathan answered. "I think it's my dad's way of making me work harder as a businessman. Even if it's pressuring me to do what he wants, I'm not going to fail . We're going to keep this café no matter what it takes."

**

* * *

**

Haley climbed off the bus and glanced at the café which was pretty busy at the moment. Both men and women were stepping inside as if it were some kind of chic boutique. The open mic night was a big hit after all. She had just finished her morning shift at the Paint Shop with Mr. Kim. It was nice to finally be back into her normal schedule. But she was a little hesitant about working at the cafe because of everything that happened the previous night. She had no memory of what she told Nathan. The only thing on her mind was the accidental kiss. Plus she figured Nathan was still mad at her. He had no right to be though, she thought.

She finally found the courage to walk inside the café and the first person she laid her eyes on was Nathan. He was behind the cash register, organizing the money inside. She thought he looked pretty cute concentrating intently on what number he was on.

"Miss James!" Percy called out.

Nathan quickly glanced up at the mention of her name. But Haley looked away before he could catch her gazing at him. She reached up to grab her apron from the hook on the wall and tied the knot around her waist. Then she turned towards Percy who took the time to walk out from around the counter to give her a bear hug. Since Percy was a pretty big man, his hugs were sweet and comfortable.

"You look better!" he exclaimed, parting from her and holding her face between his hands.

"I hope so," she smiled.

"Ah," he sighed. "How I miss the smile that shines better than the sun!"

"Percy, you always have a way with words."

"What can I say? I'm a poet since birth," he joked. "

Tim's laugh could be heard from across the room. "How corny!"

"I'm glad you're back anyways. These boys have been driving me nuts lately."

She laughed. "Don't worry. I'll tame them down for ya."

"You better keep your word."

"I promise."

He smiled happily and gave her another bear hug. "Welcome back. Now go wash up and start working!" He patted her on the shoulder and returned to his barista job behind the counter.

On her way to the kitchen, Haley noticed Nathan's eyes on her and she grew nervous. He seemed like he was about to say something to her but stopped before he could let one syllable out. Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

Nathan sighed, contemplating whether he should talk to her about yesterday or not. He thought that letting time heal the tension between them would be better, but somehow he couldn't stand waiting to be forgiven. The silence between him and Haley was so awkward because they were always bickering or talking about something.

He heard the faucet turn on and he took a nervous step away from the cash register in attempt to talk to her. But he stopped and put his foot back in place. It was way too early to ask for forgiveness. He seemed pretty upset yesterday. She saw the way he was acting. So he decided to wait another day until the tension is a little less nerve wracking.

A few seconds later, his cell phone began to ring. He looked away from the kitchen and pulled his phone out to see who was calling. It was his mother. He looked at it curiously and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, honey! I'm sorry if I'm interrupting work."

"No it's fine."

"Okay, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"Well I met this really sweet and beautiful woman at the store the other day. She said she knew you."

"Who was it?"

"Well that's the surprise."

He groaned and looked up as new customers entered the café. He waved at them and returned to his conversation.

"Don't tell me you're setting me up on a blind date."

"You're not getting any younger, Nathan."

"Blind dates are for desperate people. I'm not desperate. I don't need help trying to find a woman."

Haley slowly walked out of the kitchen and made her way towards the counter to grab a notepad from the shelf. Nathan gazed at her for a second and quickly looked away before she could see him staring.

"Just this once. I really like this girl. She has potential and has a really nice style."

"How did you meet this girl again?"

"At the market. I was getting some beauty supplies when she bumped into me. I complimented her outfit and then we started talking. Then I brought you up."

"Why did you do that?"

"Of course a mother is going to talk about her son."

He sighed deeply. "I'm really not liking this, mom. You and dad really have a way with pushing things on me."

"Nate, you've been doing your own thing for the past five years. Not once did you go to work. You didn't even come home with a nice girl. So it's our duty to put you in your place. So do this one favor for me and go on a date with this girl. I really like her."

"You barely even know her."

"Just get to know her, Nathan. You have the business party next week. She could be your date."

"I don't know about that."

"Nathan. It's just one day. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. Just try for me."

"I'll think about it."

"Think about it soon."

A few customers approached him at the register and he flashed his handsome smile at them.

"Well I better get back to work."

"Work hard, honey."

"I will. Bye."

He shut his phone and pushed it back into his pocket. Then he helped the customers who were waiting to pay for their coffee and meal. After that, he glanced over at Haley who was happily serving an old couple by the window. The minute his father told him about the business party, he thought of bringing Haley with him as his date. It was to give her the opportunity to feel like a matured woman in a serious manner rather than at a club. And maybe because he really wanted her to be there to support him. But since they were mad at each other, he didn't think that was possible. Plus, his mother wasn't going to take no for an answer.

**

* * *

**

Lydia and Mr. Kim decided to give Vivian some time off from work to focus on her studies. Winter finals were coming up and it was going to be really hard to concentrate when she's too busy working at the Paint Shop. So for the afternoon, she decided to take some time studying at the café since it was a quiet and peaceful place. Not only that, but Clay was there.

She stood outside the café and pulled out her powder compact that she bought from the beauty sale yesterday. She had put on make up specifically to impress Clay. Pleased by her look, she closed her compact and stepped inside the café.

The second she walked in, Haley was walking out of the kitchen with a tray of clean cups.

"What are you doing here?"

"To study, duh," Vivian answered rudely.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Why here?"

"Aren't coffee shops the best places to study?"

"You're only here because Clay is here. How can you concentrate when you're too busy gawking over him? You need to study for your finals. Not guys."

Vivian scoffed. "What do you take me for? Some kind of boy crazy teenager?"

Haley laughed and nodded. "Yes."

"Whatever. I'm here now, so you can't kick me out. Let me just study here and I'll behave."

A few seconds later, Clay approached them with a smile. "Wow, don't you have work?"

Immediately, Vivian's face lit up at the sight of the blonde brawn. Haley couldn't help but shake her head lightly at it. No matter what she said to her little sister, she wasn't going to listen. She warned her many times before to stay away form him. But she didn't care. She was afraid that she was going to get hurt. If Vivian's admiration for Clay deepens, it's only bring her a lot of pain.

"I have finals. I can't concentrate if I'm working, so Mr. Kim gave me some time off."

"I see. It's good that you're focusing on your studies," he commented. "Education is very important."

Vivian wasn't a big fan of studying, but she wanted to agree with him. "Mmm hmm, definitely."

Haley rolled her eyes. "She's here to study, okay? So make sure she doesn't distracted," she advised.

"I'll make sure of that," he nodded. Haley gave a him a quick smile and pointed at Vivian, ordering her to do what she needed to do and walked off.

Clay laughed to himself. "If you need anything - coffee, snacks,- just ask for me or anyone else for something, okay?"

She nodded and started blinking repeatedly to show off her make up. He didn't even say one thing about it yet and it was irritating her. She thought he'd be startled or impressed with her newly enhanced beauty the second he saw her, but he looked at her the same he always did.

"Is something wrong with your eye?" he questioned.

Vivian immediately stopped. "Oh, yeah, probably an eye lash or something."

"Okay, well. I have to go back to work. Remember, if you need anything I'll be just around the corner."

She watched him walk away and approach a group of teenage girls. She's never seen them before. They were probably from public school since she went to a private school. She sighed deeply and found a table to sit at. Placing her books beside her, she pouted in disappointment.

**

* * *

**

Later that night, Haley was busy starting up a new painting. It had been a long time since she's painted. The last time she even picked up a brush was when she worked on the mural at the café. Ever since then, a lot has happened and she never had time to pick up a brush. But she figured that it was about time to start a new project.

Vivian was busy trying to read her textbooks in her room, but just couldn't concentrate on it. Lydia was finishing the last of the debut dresses in the dining room. And Haley was in the garage, making a mess.

In the middle of concentrating on her stroking technique, her phone rang. She groaned because it was supposed to be a continuous stroke across the canvas, but her ringtone startled her which caused her to mess up. The placed the brush down and pulled out her phone. She didn't even bother to glance at the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Julian."

She stopped what she was doing. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to thank you for last night. I got your text telling me what happened. I was surprised."

"Don't think much of it," she answered.

"At least I know you still care."

"Julian. Don't even try anymore, okay? I did it because my instincts told me to."

"That's what I love about you. Even though I hurt you, you still care about me."

"Actually I don't. I did it because I didn't want to be like you. I didn't want to give people pain or anguish because I know how it feels. I don't want to wish that upon anybody. That doesn't mean I still care about you. It means that I don't want to be like you."

"You've changed," he stated.

"I've changed?" she repeated. "Maybe so. Maybe I have."

"Did I change you?"

She laughed quietly in disbelief. "No. Not even a little bit."

"Do I even have a slight chance of getting you back?"

"No. Not after what you've done to me."

"What happened in the past is in the past now."

"Don't be an idiot, Julian. You've had your chance and you blew it. Stop begging for something you can't have especially after you lost it. I've moved on, you should to."

"But I can't."

"Now you know how I feel," she answered. "Bye, Julian."

She quickly hung up and looked at the phone in her hands. It was a good feeling to finally have the strength to say what she wanted to say to him without crying or feeling a pain in her chest. It was all gone and it was relieving. Julian was regretting his ways and that's what he deserved. She didn't do that to him, he did that to himself. And he was right. She did change. She changed for the better. And she was thankful for that. Thankful for the person who taught her how to be stronger than she really was. The person who told her to never give in so easily. The person who told her to be patient. The person who told her to never belittle or blame herself for anything. She was thankful for him even though he was a big pain in the ass sometimes.

She laughed at the thought and reopened her phone again to call that person. They hardly said a word to each other all day, and it was really awkward and weird. Apologies were needed.

**

* * *

**

Nathan tucked his hands into his pockets as he walked to the park near Haley's house. The night was pretty cold, so he had to wear a thick jacket to keep warm. She called him earlier so they could meet up. He was a little nervous about meeting up with her, but he figured it was needed.

He kicked away a few broken branches off the sidewalk when he noticed a small figure sitting on one of the swings at the park. He knew it was Haley from the colorful crochet hat she had on her head. Despite how many times she's been criticized for her sense of style, she still wore what she wanted to wear. He drew out a long breath and stepped towards her.

"It's freezing outside. Why did you want to meet up here?" he complained.

Haley stopped swinging and turned to him. "I like the cold weather."

He stood in front of her and shook his head in disbelief. "No wonder you got sick."

"HEY!"

"Why did you call me here for anyways?"

"I wanted to talk. So come sit down."

"On the swing?"

"No, on the slide," she answered dryly.

He chuckled lightly, a cloud of air could be seen near his mouth. And he settled down in the swing next to her.

"Okay, talk."

"You had your reasons to be mad at me and I had mine," she began. "I made a choice that you didn't approve of because you thought I chose him because I wasn't over him yet. So I understand your view point, but the reason why I stayed was because -"

"You don't abandon people," he cut in. She furrowed her eyes and turned to him. "You told me that last night."

"I did?"

"You were drunk. You know you tend to do and say a lot of things when you're drunk, you know that? Didn't I say to stay away from the alcohol?"

She let out a soft chuckle and looked away, embarrassed. "Oh my gosh."

"After you said that, I felt guilty. I realized that what I did was wrong and selfish of me. I don't know what happened. I just got angry and jumped into conclusions. You should know that I have a short temper."

"A really weird one," she mumbled.

Nathan poked her in the head playfully. "I just didn't want you get hurt again."

"I won't," she answered.

"You jumped in front of a car for the guy, what does that tell you?"

"That I didn't want him to get run over?" she answered, jokingly. "If I just stood there and let him get hit when I could've saved him, I would've felt guilty for the rest of my life."

He nodded in agreement. "But you almost got killed for him. I'd rather have you alive than him."

Even though it sounded kind of wrong, it made Haley smile. She lit up at the thought and turned to him happily. "Same goes for you, boss. You jumped in for me. I'd rather have you alive than me. So maybe we're all super heroes."

He grinned and sighed. "Maybe so."

"So did you mean it?" she asked.

"Mean what?"

"That you pitied me."

He leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "At that moment I did because I thought you didn't learn anything at all from what happened to you. Cause I thought you were going to give in to the man who hurt you're the most."

"No. Never. I'll never give in to him again."

He nodded in satisfaction. "Good. He's not good enough for you anyways."

She laughed. "Of all people, you're the one telling me that someone isn't good enough for me. I would expect the other way around."

"After getting to you know these past few months, you're actually not so bad," he answered, trying to cover up what he actually thought of her.

Haley grinned at the compliment and quickly thought of something.

"Let's make a promise," she suggested, her hand out with her pinky up.

He looked at her curiously. "What?"

"Take your pinky out," she demanded.

"You're being childish again. Haven't I taught you anything?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just do it."

He groaned. "Fine."

When he had his hand out, she quickly linked hers with his.

"Whenever we make mistakes, let's understand each other, okay?" she stated.

He furrowed his eyes at her and observed her serious expression. Even if she wasn't like most girls he'd find himself attracted to, he liked her this way. He didn't want her to change.

"Okay?" she repeated, moving their hands.

He chuckled and nodded. "Okay. Is that all?"

"What do you mean, is that all?"

"Let's make the promise longer."

She looked at him curiously. "Okay, you say something."

"Let's promise to never abandon each other," he said confidently, startling Haley in the process. "You stay by my side, supporting me, while I stay by yours."

Haley couldn't help but blush at that promise. She never thought of that. It made her heart pitter patter like crazy as if it was an engine and he was the pedal.

"You promise?"

"I promise," she agreed.

"Good."

"Now kiss your thumb," she ordered.

"What?"

"It's what you have to do to complete it. So don't be a pussy and kiss your thumb."

"I think you're just trying to kiss me again," he joked.

She scoffed. "Do you want me to give you another wound on your face?" she warned.

"No."

"Then just do it."

Nathan finally gave in and they both leaned in to kiss their hands quickly. After that, they both felt a sense of relief and happiness. Both sitting on the swing set, free of anger and frustration for each other, they stared up at the sky observing the stars above. Both trying their best to keep whatever they felt for each other hidden.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hi my loves. First of all****, I'd like to say that I'm sorry that I made you all wait three weeks (almost a month) for this update. You can all throw tomatoes at me for being such a bad updater. That's what I've been trying to avoid but it just doesn't work out. Let's just say that school+finals+real life+holiday shopping+lack of inspiration have kept me from writing and typing. But now that I have a month of no school or anything besides the holidays, I have free time. So I will be writing up the next couple of chapters. For those of you who are wondering how long this story will be, my answer is 20 chapters total. I was going to do 17 chapters like she's so lovely, but I decided I needed three more chapters to complete the story. So there you go! :) **

**I hope you all can forgive me for making you wait this long. I will try my best to to not make you wait that long. I'm actually trying to finish this story up before the year ends. Cross your fingers with me that I will complete it! Anyways I don't have time to do personal replies but I really would like to thank those of you who have taken the time to leave a nice review for me. I really love you and appreciate you for the inspiring and motivating words. Without you, I wouldn't be able to continue to write stories. I also love how in some of your reviews you compare the story to some real life issues and that really touches me. I just makes me *sigh* and happy to know that I've affected you all in some way or another.  
**

**& yes. To those of you who have checked my profile, you may have seen that I'm plotting up a new story. I'm not sure what kind of genre it will be. I was thinking of an action or another comedy. I was even thinking of a fantasy one. lol. I wanted to do something different. But I'm still not sure if I will pursue another story. But we'll see how everything turns out. My next semester is going to be super hard. I hope I can fulfill my goals soon.**

**Anyways. In case I don't update before the holidays I wanted to say : HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope you all have a good one! And enjoy this chapter!**

**Annie.**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Nathan glanced at a pack of papers his father gave him earlier that day to look at. It was a bunch of writing focused mainly on the profits and sales of the café - a bunch of material that he really had no care for. But since he needed to concentrate on tripling the sales in the next three months in order to keep the café running, he had to read through them. It was just so tiring to go through so much in so little time.

To add more stress upon him, he had that business party that he had to attend to in the next couple of days. He invited everyone to go, but he realized that it was on a work day, so half the workers had to stay at the café while he was gone. Clay, Jake and Percy all offered to stay that night. So it left Haley and Tim as his fellow supporters. Both were the perfect fit too because he was closer to Tim and Haley became someone really special to him. She promised to be his support system anyways.

Nathan groaned and sat back on his chair, exhausted from looking at the pack of papers on his desk. He glanced out the window and watched as the snow fell slowly down from the sky. He smiled at the sight and looked back at his desk. Beside the papers was his cell phone. He reached over to grab it and slid it open. He clicked on his pictures and observed the photos Haley took on it while they were sitting at the park the other night. She snatched it and started fiddling with it like a little girl.

"_What are you doing with my phone?"_

_Haley quickly made a sad face and clicked the button to take the photo. He chuckled at her face and looked at her like she was a freak._

"_Taking pictures. What does it look like?"_

"_Why would I want pictures of you on my phone? Especially after making that ugly face that you just made."_

_She scoffed. "You're always going to talk down on me_, _aren't you?"_

"_As long as you act like a child_, _I will continue to talk down on you."_

_Haley stuck her tongue out at him and continued posing for the camera. "Since we promised to stay by each other's side and support each other_, _it would be completely impossible for that to happen knowing how our relationship is. So when we're not together and I can't be there in time to give you some awesome words of advice_, _you can just look at these photos and I'll be there instantly."_

_He looked at her strangely. "You're so weird."_

"_I might be weird_, _but I create great ideas."_

_He sighed deeply and continued to observe her as she took more pictures. "I guess."_

He smiled at the pouty picture and read the title of it on the bottom. "Understand!" Then he switched to a photo of her making a mean face with her finger up as if she was pointing at him. "Don't give up!" The next one was his favorite. It was a picture of her smiling cutely with her fist up with the title "Supporting you!"

Nathan couldn't stop smiling and looking at the photos. It helped him ease away some of the stress he had.

"What are you giggling about?" Tim questioned, climbing up the steps.

Nathan immediately shut his phone and placed it in his pocket. He cleared his throat and leaned forward on his desk, acting like nothing happened.

"Giggling?" he laughed nervously. "I was clearing my throat."

"You were grinning," Tim pointed out.

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were," he laughed.

Nathan's jaw tightened and observed the item in Tim's hands.

"What is that?"

Tim stopped messing with Nathan and glanced at the ties in his hands. "Oh, I was going to ask you what would be appropriate to wear for the business party. I have a regular gold tie and rainbow polka dotted one."

Looking at him strangely, Nathan shook his head and returned his focus back to the papers on his desk.

"Isn't the answer pretty obvious? Unless Haley's fashion sense rubbed off on you so then I guess it's a difficult decision."

"Then the rainbow one, right?" Tim responded, lifting up the tie. "It gives me personality."

Nathan sighed deeply and looked up at his best friend. "You know you're going to be with me at the party. You might as well look good while you're at it."

"You should be afraid of what Haley's planning to wear. Her sense of style is worse than mine. She'd probably wear some knitted dress with ruffles."

He laughed. "I'm sure she'll find something decent."

"She should wear that red dress she wore at the club."

Nathan observed the grin on Tim's face and had the urge to wipe it off with his fist. "No," he stated.

"Why not? She actually looked sexy."

"Well this isn't a sexy event."

"If it was, I vote the red dress!"

"I vote that you go back to work," Nathan ordered, flipping a page of the packet.

Tim groaned and stuffed the ties back in to his pocket. "Oh, I forgot to ask you," Tim began before he stepped down the stairs. "What about your blind your mom set you up on?"

Nathan completely forgot about that. His mother said that they'd meet at the business party, but he wasn't quite sure if he'd be happy with that situation. It would be very difficult for Nathan because he'd be in front of his parents and he couldn't ditch his date while he was in front of them. He was never really a big fan of blind dates. They always ended up having something wrong with them. And he also didn't like being forced to like someone.

"What about it?"

"What are you going to do about that?"

"I don't know yet," he answered. "I'm meeting her at the business party."

"Wow. One thing over another. First your dad gives you a job and now your mom wants you to have a woman. What's next? They're going to give you the birth date for your newborn?"

Nathan furrowed his eyes. "Don't be stupid, Tim."

"I'm just saying. They've got your life all planned out for you."

"I guess that makes it easier for me then," Nathan smiled.

"Lucky bastard."

He chuckled. "Go back to work."

"Ay ay captain!"

* * *

At the _Paint Shop_, Haley was in the middle of doodling on a spiral, brainstorming on what to paint next. Somehow she found herself sketching a male figure with a chiseled jaw and a smirk on his face. She quickly stopped when she realized who she was drawing. Her eyes widened and she flipped to another page to shake away the thoughts.

She quickly began drawing something unrelated to Nathan and found a man walking in with a display of flowers in his arms. Her eyes furrowed as he approached her at the counter.

"Are you Haley James?" the man questioned. She nodded awkwardly.

"Just sign here," he stated, placing a clipboard in front of her. He pointed at the line where she needed to sign and she scribbled her name down.

"Who are these from?" she questioned after giving him the pen.

"It's anonymous," he answered.

"So you have no clue who gave me these?"

"Sorry ma'm. I just deliver."

"Oh."

"Have a nice day."

"You too."

She waved goodbye and examined the bouquet of flowers carefully. Leaning in, she took a whiff of the sweet scent that came from them and she began to wonder who would randomly send her flowers like this.

"What's that?" Mr. Kim questioned, walking in from the backroom. "You got secret admirer?"

"I don't know. I guess," she shrugged.

"Hmm," he began, approaching her to check the flowers himself. "Who usually gives you daisies?"

Haley was in the middle of admiring every little stem in the bouquet when she began to think of someone would give her these particular flowers. "I don't know," she answered. And she continued to think as she adjusted the flowers. Then she suddenly stopped when she realized who they were from. Soon flashes from that day at the hospital came to mind.

"_I knew this wasn't going to be easy."_

_"I'm going to work really hard to get you back. I want you to know that. Even if it's going to take me months or years."_

"_I'm keeping my word about getting you back. I'll become the man you deserve again."_

She returned back to reality and she quickly pushed the flowers away from her.

"You can keep these. I don't want them."

**

* * *

**

Alex walked out from her bathroom in nothing but her bathrobe and the towel wrapped around her hair. She walked towards her closet and searched for a dress that she was willing to wear for the party Debra had invited her to.

She met the woman a week ago. She had no clue who she was until she started talking about her son. Once the name 'Nathan' was brought up, she immediately thought of the Chivalry Café owner, Nathan Scott. It was such a coincidence to meet up with his mother in a huge town like Tree Hill City. At first she wasn't quite sure if it was the same Nathan because it was a really common name, but once she spoke about him managing a new coffee shop down town, it was pretty obvious it was the same guy she was thinking of. Even though she already knew who he was, Alex pretended that she didn't know him at all.

There was nothing in her closet that she was willing to wear. Everything had been worn at least twice and she didn't like to repeat her outfits. Now that she was broke and had no man to treat her with money and expensive gifts, she had to steal from her work place in order to have something pretty. She still hadn't gotten caught yet. It was starting to become an addiction for her to steal. But fortunately, she was able to meet up with Nathan's mother. She had a chance to gain what she lost back.

**

* * *

**

Haley stepped down from the bus and adjusted her uniform collar when she noticed a familiar delivery boy stepping down from his truck by the cafe. She furrowed her eyes when she noticed him grabbing a bouquet of yellow daisies from his seat. Her eyes widened and she watched as he walked towards the entrance of Chivalry. In a split second she found herself running over to the familiar man and stopped him from entering.

"Hi," she greeted.

"I have to make a delivery," he answered slowly. He carefully took a quick look at her. "Aren't you that girl from the Paint Shop?"

"Yeah, who are those for?" she pointed to the bouquet in his arms.

"I guess you," he answered, handing them to her.

"No-no," she refused, giving it back. "You can throw them away."

"Huh?"

"I don't want them."

"Well I can't do anything about that. My job is to deliver and I am delivering them to you," he stated, putting them back in her hands.

"But I don't want them."

"Sorry," he responded. "You can do whatever you want with them. I just deliver, okay? Bye again." He quickly turned around and walked over to his car. She groaned at the sight of him as he climbed inside his truck and drove away.

Haley scowled at the daisies and then glanced over her shoulder to see who was by the counter. It was Jake and Percy. Then she glanced at the flowers again and rolled her eyes. She turned around and decided to enter the café with the bouquet in her hands. There was no where else she could do with them now. She would throw them away but they were too pretty to do that.

When she turned to the side, she found her little sister sleeping at one of the tables with her textbooks right in front of her. She laughed at the figure and stepped towards her. She placed the bouquet on the table and poked her sister in the head.

"Hey genius!"

Vivian moaned and shooed her away.

"Have you been studying or were you just moping around?" Haley asked in a low tone.

Her little sister looked up from her book and glared at her. "I was studying."

Haley lifted an eyebrow and turned around. She found Clay talking to a busty blond. It was pretty obvious what was going on. Then she looked at her sister.

"Or were you studying Clay?"

She groaned. "Are you here to lecture me again about why I shouldn't like him?

Haley sighed. "Maybe. But you know, you're only digging your own grave if you keep coming here to study."

"Look who's talking," Vivian retorted. Haley furrowed her eyes at the comment. _What's that supposed to mean? _"Who are the flowers from?" Vivian asked.

She stopped thinking and glanced at the daisies. "Julian gave them to me," Haley answered.

"Huh? He gave those to you? Are you serious?"

"I'm not kidding. I got another one at the Paint Shop earlier. It was from anonymous but I knew it was from him."

Vivian pulled one out from the bunch and observed it. "It's definitely from Julian. He always bought you daisies during the winter time."

"Yep."

"What did you do with the other one?"

"I let Mr. Kim have them," she answered. "I didn't want it and I definitely don't want this. So you can have them. Use it to make Clay jealous."

Vivian laughed dryly. "I doubt that. He won't even look at me. He's too busy flirting with that blonde over there."

"I'm sorry," Haley answered. She looked up and found a familiar teenage boy walk into the café. Immediately a smile formed on her lips and waved him towards her. "Anthony!"

Vivian glanced his way. It had been a while since she's spoken to Anthony. Way too long.

"Hey," he greeted them. He looked over at Vivian, awed over her beauty, and waved shyly at her. "Hi Vivian."

"Hi Anthony."

"Are you here to study?" Haley questioned.

"I was just coming in for coffee. It seemed like a good time to get something since it's been snowing out."

"Yeah, gotta love that snowy weather. Well you should stay. Vivian's having trouble studying for her finals. Why don't you help her out? You're in the same classes right?" The nerdy looking boy nodded shyly, avoiding any eye contact with Haley's little sister. Vivian on the other hand wasn't really liking what her sister was doing. "Then come on, sit." She guided him towards the seat across from Vivian and quickly grabbed her apron from the hook. "What would you like to drink?"

Vivian glared at her, but Haley continued to smile at Anthony. "A mocha latte?"

"Sure. Is that all?" she responded. He nodded. "What about you, Vivvy? Would you like something caffeinated?"

"No," she replied with a forced smile. "Thanks for asking."

Haley cutely scrunched her nose at her. "Alright. It will be right with you."

Just as she turned around, she bumped into Nathan who was holding his own cup of coffee. It spilled all over his white button up shirt. Not only did it stain his shirt, but it burnt his skin underneath.

"Damn it, Haley!" he hissed.

She cringed at the sight and quickly grabbed some napkins to wipe the mess. "I am so sorry."

"I can't believe this," he complained, pulling his shirt away from his skin.

Handing him the napkins, she looked at him with begging eyes. "Remember our promise? We must understand each other when we make mistakes."

As Nathan tried to wipe off the excess coffee from his shirt, he looked up and found himself looking at Haley's big doe eyes. For a second he lost himself, finding them so beautiful, but then he turned away quickly. "Right."

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"It's okay."

"Do you have another shirt you can change into?" she questioned.

"No," he answered.

"I have a shirt in the trunk of my car. You can go get it," Clay called out.

"You have spare clothes hanging around in your car?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, don't you?" She shook her head. But it's because she didn't even own her own car. She shares one with her mother and her mother is really ocd about the car's cleanliness. "I went out of town a while back and just tossed my clothes in there. I've been too lazy to take them out."

"How long ago was that?" Nathan questioned, giving Clay a curious look.

"Don't worry, they're clean." Clay pulled out his keys from his pocket and tossed them over to Haley.

Soon both of them walked out the back door of the café and paced towards his car in the freezing weather. The snow had stopped a few hours earlier which packed a little bit of whiteness onto the ground. Even though the snow had stopped, the wind was still pretty icy.

"You're a real klutz, you know that?" Nathan commented as they reached Clay's car.

"It's not my fault that you were in the way," she answered, opening Clay's car with his keys. The trunk popped open and they approached it. Reaching inside, Nathan pulled out two polo T-shirts. One was black and the other one was red.

"Black," Haley pointed out. She always thought Nathan looked handsomer when he wore black. She didn't know why, but he did. It's not like it was something specific that was good looking. It was just the way he wore it around. Nathan nodded and started unbuttoning his shirt in front of her. Her eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing? It's freakin cold outside!"

Nathan stopped unbuttoning his shirt, exposing some of his chest through the unbuttoned areas. "Well I really want to get out of this soaking wet shirt. "

"Can't you do it inside?"

"It's quicker here."

Haley grew nervous and looked away, avoiding any contact with his chiseled bod. She could see him unbuttoning the rest of his shirt from her peripheral vision, and it just made her feel a little uneasy. Not because she didn't like it, but because he was doing it in front of her like it was no big deal. Of course she had seen what his body looked like when she found herself at his house. But knowing how she was beginning to feel about him, it made it even more uncomfortable for her.

"You still want me to go to that business party ?" she asked, trying to distract herself from his physique.

"Yeah," he answered, unbuttoning the last button. "It would make it less stressful for me if you were there."

She smiled to herself at that comment. "I thought I was bad luck?"

"You are. The coffee stain on my shirt makes it obvious," he answered. She scoffed. "But having you there, I'd feel more at ease since you're familiar to me." He removed the shirt, feeling the icy breeze against his skin and quickly pulled on the black long sleeved button up Haley had picked out.

"What about Tim?"

"Yeah, him too. Although both of you are pretty reckless in your own way, I find myself oddly happy when you guys are around."

Again, a smile appeared on her face. She tried to hide it because she didn't want him to see it. Nathan really had a way to make her admire him even more. The things he says, even if they are said in a jokingly mean way, always made her melt a little bit inside.

From the way Haley was looking away from him, he knew she felt a little uneasy about him changing in front of her. It made him laugh. After buttoning the last of his shirt, he shut the trunk and walked ahead of her.

She furrowed her eyes and glanced at the trunk. "You're done?"

"No, I'm still changing," he answered sarcastically, his back to her.

She scoffed and beeped Clay's car. Then she jogged up to Nathan. She took a quick glance at him now that he was wearing black , and she immediately felt something flicker inside of her. She was definitely pleased by the sight before her.

"What?" he questioning, feeling her eyes on him.

She snapped her head away and cleared her throat. "Huh?"

He furrowed his eyes at her and smirked, amused. "Does the shirt not look good on me?"

"N-N-no. It looks good," she stuttered. _Oh my God! Why did I just do that?_

He laughed. "Are you that cold?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "It's freezing out here. Let's go inside," she answered as she quickly stepped into the cafe, trying to run away from further embarrassment.

Nathan chuckled inside and followed her.

**

* * *

**

After a couple of hours of working, Haley decided to take a break to eat the food her mother delivered earlier when she picked Vivian up. She ate it upstairs in the second floor where they had their break room. Jake was with her too since it was his break time too.

"I'm sad that you don't get to come to the party with us," Haley stated as she placed a crunch roll in her mouth.

Jake glanced at her and laughed at how stuffed her mouth was. "Yeah I know. I wish I could go too, but the café needs me. If we want to triple the sales in three months, we have to work as much as we can."

She nodded. "That's right," she agreed, her mouth still stuffed with sushi.

He chuckled. "I bet you're going to be beautiful at the party."

Haley furrowed her eyes and pointed at her mouth. She swallowed what was left and drank from her sonic cup.

"Not like this, I won't," she stated. "But what makes you think that anyway? I lack the fashion skills." She picked up another roll and took a bite from it.

He shrugged. "You always look beautiful."

She stopped chewing and glanced at him. _Was this a confession? Or just a compliment? _

Swallowing her food, she replied, "Are you Clay Evans or Jake Jagielski?"

He smirked. "Definitely Jake Jagielski."

"I hope so," she smiled. Glancing down at her food, she thought of something that she had been thinking about a lot lately since she starting working at the café. "You know what's funny?"

"What?"

"Before this, before I started working here, I've never gained so much attention from this many men before." Jake looked at her curiously. "I've had one guy for two years and he was the only man who had ever told me I was beautiful. No one else wanted me because I wasn't some busty blonde who wore short skirts and low cut shirts. I was a fashion disaster as my little sister would say. But after he left me, I didn't think I would receive the same attention again. But I ended up receiving it from you guys. And you have no idea how much that really means to me. I promise I won't walk around with a big head because of that. It's just overwhelming and incredible to feel like I'm fine just the way I am."

"I'm glad we're able to do that for you."

"Me too. It's so great to have good friends around," she smiled.

Jake's heart suddenly dropped at the mention of the word "friends". It was probably the worst word anybody could ever hear from the person they liked. Maybe she was referring to everyone in general, but it kind of made him believe that he was just going to be her friend and only that.

"Yeah," he replied.

**

* * *

**

Latching his watch around his wrist, Nathan glanced at himself in his mirror and adjusted his silver tie. He could feel the jitters as each and every second flew by. As a child, he would attend these gatherings with his parents, following them around as his father chatted with various groups of people in business suits. They would laugh at lame jokes and make toasts to certain people in the crowd. At the time, he had no clue what was going on. He just knew that the people there were interested in talking about numbers and buildings. He stopped going once he reached middle school. So he really had no full experience of those days. Now that he was older, he was going to be one of those people in a business suit, shaking hands with other businessmen and talking about promises that he wasn't sure he could fulfill.

"Tim, I have to be there a bit earlier than you guys," he stated, his phone to his ear.

"What? We're not going together?"

"No. What would everyone think if we entered the place together? Sorry, Tim but I don't swing that way."

"Oh! Ew!"

He chuckled as he sprayed a few sprits of cologne on his neck. "So pick Haley up from her house."

"What! In my beat up old car?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you just pick us up?

"My dad wants to talk to me before hand. Since my family is pretty much hosting the whole event, we have to be present before everyone else. So just do as I say and come fifteen minutes after me."

He could hear Tim groan on the other line. "Fine."

"Alright, I'll see you later."

He grabbed his keys from his dresser and stepped into his nice new pair of shoes he recently bought. Then he headed downstairs to meet up with everyone at the hotel where the event was located. Unfortunately, he wasn't only going to be meeting up with his café staff and parents. The date his mother set him up on was waiting for him at the location as well. It was just another thing added on to his list of 'dislikes' for this business party. He groaned and walked out the door.

Haley zipped up her simple black v-neck dress that stopped at her mid-thigh. It was a dress one of Lydia's clients left behind. They didn't need it, so she gave it to Haley for the annual winter business party. It was a lucky moment because they didn't have to spend any money buying another dress. The dress was beautiful and elegant and very Haley-like.

She picked up the pearl necklace her mother laid out for her on her vanity drawer and wrapped it around her neck. Then she grabbed her mascara and applied two applications on her lashes. After dabbing a little bit of pink lipstick on her lips, she finished everything off with a few sprits of perfume on her neck and wrists.

As soon as she stepped into the living room where Lydia and Vivian were hanging out, they couldn't believe their eyes. This was definitely a completely different Haley than they were used to. It wasn't a bad different. They knew it was her, she just glowed differently. In a simple black dress, Haley looked 100x more beautiful and happier than before. It was incredible how far she's come.

"Wow," her mother awed, her hands covering her mouth. "You look so lovely!"

Vivian smiled at the sight of her sister. "I don't have anything bad to say about your outfit."

Haley observed her dress. "Even though you didn't really say anything, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Fine." Vivian rolled her eyes. "You actually look pretty for once."

Haley scoffed and shook her head, amused. "Well thanks lil sis. I appreciate your nice words."

"No probizzle," Vivian responded, snatching up a fashion magazine from the table.

Lydia stood up from the couch and stepped forward to adjust the necklace around Haley's neck.

"You know your dad's jaw would literally be on the floor right now if he saw you." Haley smiled as her mother turned the pearls around. "He bought this necklace for me, did you know that?" She shook her head. "It was on our one year anniversary. I told him to get me something simple and plain. I didn't think he'd buy me a pearl necklace. But he said that a pearl necklace was simple. It didn't have to sparkle like a diamond or be cute into a different shape. It was what it was and it was beautiful that way."

Haley noticed how in love her mother looked when she spoke about her father. They all missed him a lot. Her mother especially. It had been about 13 years since his death, and it was still hard to deal with to this day.

Beep beep!

Everyone turned their heads to the sound. Lydia parted from Haley so she could grab her purse and they exchanged goodbyes.

"Have a good night, sweetie!"

"Thank you, mom. I'll be back soon!"

As Haley walked out of the house, she was expecting to see Nathan's badass Porsche parked outside, but instead she found a smaller, old looking car by the curb with a different man inside. Her eyes furrowed at the sight as she walked closer and she leaned her head in to see who it was.

"Tim?"

"Sorry I'm here instead of Nathan. He had to be there earlier than us, so he told me to pick you up."

"That's fine."

She nodded and climbed inside, the door creaking as she closed it. She settled herself in her seat and buckled the seat belt on. Then she looked to her left to observe Tim's outfit. Grinning at the sight, she realized that Tim was handsomer than she thought. He wore a black suit with a golden tie.

"You look dashing, Tim," she complimented.

Tim was about to drive out of the driveway when he suddenly felt happy from the comment. He blushed bashfully. "Thanks." He glanced at her and had to catch his breath for a second. He thought she looked beautiful in the red dress, but she looked extra beautiful in this one. "How come you look better when you dress for events like this?"

"Well I should look good, right?"

"Yeah, but the clothes that you wear outside of work aren't . . ." he looked at her and found himself feeling uneasy at the sight of her pretty big eyes. He quickly looked away and turned back to the wheel. Somehow he couldn't tell her that she dressed ugly outside of work. It was so easy to joke around with her before, but now he couldn't even say anything meant to her. Not with her begging with her eyes like that. "Never mind." And he drove out of her street.

She furrowed her eyes at him, unaware of what she did to him, and reached over to turn on the radio. Immediately Spanish music started blaring from the speakers. She cringed at the sound and quickly turned it off. Tim hit it three times and turned it back on. It was now playing Christmas music.

"Sorry, my radio has a brain of its own."

Haley laughed and shook her head at him in amusement.

**

* * *

**

Nathan parked in the driveway of the Regalien hotel and glanced at the charming bright lights from inside. He sighed deeply, clearing away all of his nerves. From the look of it, the valet was already preparing to take his car, so he pulled out his keys from the ignition and climbed out. He held the keys tightly to his palm before he placed it in the young man's hands.

"This is my baby. You better not damage it," Nathan warned.

"It's my job to keep it safe, " the valet boy answered.

"Good." Nathan nodded.

Once his car dashed away, Nathan finally decided to enter through the doors of the hotel. He walked towards the front counter where a woman in a dark blue dress with her hair in a tight bun stood. She was busy typing something in the computer at the moment when he approached her.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the Group Scott Business party is being held?"

"In the ballroom across from the dining area," she answered, pointing to her right.

Nathan smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

He stepped away and rubbed his hands together, feeling the dampness of his palms, and headed straight towards the ballroom where a couple of people were entering.

_Damn it. What the hell am I doing here? I don't know how to handle these kinds of things. He said I had to speak to everyone. What the hell am I supposed to talk about? Support Chivalry Café and wish me luck in the next three months? I just need to relax. Just relax. . . Where the hell is Haley when I need her?_

Nathan fixed his tie and followed everyone inside the ballroom. There were many people in suits and nice cocktail dresses with wine glasses in their hands. It seemed like everyone was busy chatting away instead of dancing away on the dance floor. From the corner of his eye, he spotted his mother dressed in her usual expensive attire - a black, short sleeved, faux fur jacket over a cream colored dress and a bundle of jewels to go along with it. She was definitely a high-class lady and she knew how to flaunt it. Standing beside her was his father dressed in his usual navy blue suit and tie.

He approached them once they made eye contact. He cleared his throat and walked over to them with his hands in his pockets.

"Hi sweetie, you look handsome tonight," his mother commented.

"Thanks, mom. You look beautiful." He reached over to embrace her to the side gently.

"Everyone's almost here. It's almost time to begin the introduction," Dan stated.

"Introduction?"

"Yeah," Dan nodded.

"What am I supposed to say?"

"Just talk about your business. Reflect on what has happened in the past few months and tell them to enjoy the party."

"Why don't you do that instead?"

"Because you're the heir of the company and you're the owner of Chivalry. It's part of your duty."

Nathan groaned and shook his head. He looked away from his parents and spotted a familiar woman standing at the entrance of the ballroom. The woman was dressed in a surprisingly well-covered outfit. It was a black sleeveless dress with a thick white stripe curved down the middle like an 's'. Her hair was up in a curly bun and she wore heels to give her some height.

_What is she doing here?_

Her eyes landed on him and she began waving her arm in their direction. He turned around and found his mother waving back. Immediately, his eyes widened and grew tense.

"Your date is here," Deb stated, patting Nathan on the shoulder.

"My what?"

"Your date. Remember your date? I told you that she was coming here."

"Oh," he nodded. "Right, right. Um I have to use the restroom really quick."

"Nathan! Just introduce yourself first," Deb begged.

He scratched the back of his neck as Alex approached them. "Sorry, it's an emergency." He quickly flew past Alex, surprising her, and walked out of the ballroom.

"Nathan!" Deb called out, but he had already disappeared. She turned to Alex apologetically. "I'm sorry. He's a little shy. He'll be back in a minute."

"Oh it's okay. I don't mind at all," she replied, glancing back at the entrance where he fled to.

Nathan walked down the hall towards the lobby and he walked out of the hotel to catch some fresh air. Just when he thought he wasn't stressed enough about this party, Alex had to come in to make it even more dramatic. _Great. Just great. Haley's about to be here in a minute and that's just a disaster in the making._

In order to make things less difficult, he decided to warn Haley beforehand so things wouldn't get messy. So he pulled his phone out from his pocket and dialed her number. It rang a few times, but she wouldn't answer. As soon as the fourth ring was heard, he spotted Tim's car at the curb.

_Thank God. _

The passenger door opened and revealed an elegant looking Haley stepping out from it. Nathan completely forgot about the party for a second. She looked incredibly stunning. He was so surprised by her appearance that he didn't even know he dropped his phone. He shook away his thoughts and he bent down to pick his phone up. Haley looked at him strangely as he picked up the battery cover over his phone. She was about to approach him when she found someone who looked similar to him at the entrance.

"Nathan! Get in here now!" Dan demanded before walking back inside.

He sighed deeply and stuffed his cell in his pocket.

"Hey Nate!" Tim greeted, walking around his car.

"I'll meet you guys inside," he called out before he followed his father back in the hotel.

Haley furrowed her eyes at him and then she felt something move in her purse. Curiously, she dug through her clutch and found that she had one missed phone call from Nathan. She didn't even know she was getting a call. She left it on vibrate. _I wonder why he was calling me?_

"Come on," Tim ordered with his elbow out for her. "You can be my date for tonight since Nathan has his own."

"What? He has a date?"

"Yeah, you didn't know?" She shook her head. "His mom set him up on a blind date. He's meeting with her at the party."

"Oh," she answered.

Tim observed her expression before they entered the hotel. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing's wrong."

"Okay. I'm just making sure. Let's go inside!"

**

* * *

**

"Good evening everyone! It's lovely to see everyone so festive for tonight's event. I promise not to take up so much of your time by talking about work, but I just wanted to thank you all for a wonderful and successful year. You know that every year we always talk about a new idea for the company, so I wanted to mention the new business that we developed in the past few months. The staff that I have worked with in order to come up with this idea have been really great. It's still a rookie business compared to everything else in the company but it's developing well. The heir of the Scott Group Company and my son is currently the manager of the café. He'll tell you more about it and we can start the festivities!"

Everyone clapped as Dan handed Nathan the mic. Just as he was about to speak, Haley and Tim entered the ballroom, arm in arm. He glanced at them together and then he moved his eyes towards Alex who was looking at him flirtatiously at the buffet table. He was nervous about what was about to happen.

"Thanks dad for that introduction," he began. "Um, I just want to say that since this is my first time running a business, it hasn't been really easy for me. We've had our ups and downs in the cafe, but thankfully I have an incredible staff and loving community to help us out in developing the café. We're just beginning, so I hope that we can accomplish more and finish out the year with a bang." He glanced at Tim and Haley who were smiling at him proudly. "That's all I have to say for now. There's some free champagne at the party for the next hour, so I hope you enjoy that. I also want to thank you all for being here and Happy Holidays!"

Haley watched him step down from the stage and was ready to greet him. But as she was about to approach him, she noticed a familiar woman on the other side of the room with a wine glass in her hand. Her eyes widened once she started walking towards Nathan with an elder woman in a furry jacket.

"No," she whispered.

"What?" Tim questioned. She didn't answer so he looked where her eyes were staring at. He immediately found Alex standing there with Nathan and his parents. "Alex is his date?"

"That bitch," she mumbled.

"What did you say?'

"Nothing."

While his parents were giving him nice compliments about his speech, he was craning his neck around to see where Haley and Tim were. Alex was standing on the side observing his actions and moved her head around too. Once she found Haley and Tim across the room, she raised an eyebrow and turned back to him.

"Enjoy the party you two," Debra stated. She stepped closer to Nathan and whispered to him quietly. "Get to know her. You might like her."

Nathan sighed deeply. She parted away from him and Dan took her place. "You did a good job up there, son. Let's see how everything goes in the next 3 months, okay?"

"I'm telling you it's going to be good things," he stated.

"I better hope so," Dan stated. "Enjoy the rest of the party."

Nathan nodded and watched as his parents walked off to talk to everyone else at the party, leaving him with Alex.

"I got you some champagne," she stated, handing him the glass.

"Thanks," he answered.

"I'm not much of a blind date since you already know me, but that's a good thing, right?" she asked. "We don't have to make an awkward introduction. So no problem there."

"Yeah," he agreed. Unfortunately, the problem was the fact that Haley was also here which would make this whole thing uncomfortable for him.

Haley and Tim approached them a few seconds later, making the tension stronger than before.

"You did great up there," Tim complimented. "I didn't think you could sound so professional. First your running a café and now you're an official businessman. Man!"

Nathan chuckled and glanced at Haley who was trying to be happy about being here. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't.

"Yeah you did great," she repeated. Her eyes immediately moved to Alex's direction. She was smiling at her mischievously as if she had won a grand prize. "I didn't know you were invited."

"I came as his date," Alex answered. "And you're here because . . .?"

"Because Nathan invited me to come. I'm a staff member of the company. Did you forget?" Haley answered in a low tone.

"I guess I did. I barely see you at the café."

"You must be blind then. You don't even check if someone's taken or not."

"What does that supposed to mean? Nathan's not taken. Unless you think you had him first."

Haley felt her blood rushing through her veins in fury. Alex really knew how to get under her skin.

"I wasn't referring to him."

Nathan cleared his throat loudly, cutting off the tension between the two.

"Haley, can we talk for a moment?" he asked.

"Sure. If it means that I'll be away from her, then I'd be delighted to," she answered through her teeth, staring at Alex devilishly.

"Come on," Nathan ordered, pulling her by the elbow.

Both of them left the crowd, leaving Tim with Alex. He was confused by the interaction between the two girls. He wasn't aware of any of the drama between Haley and Alex. He didn't know anything at all.

"You look pretty," he complimented.

Alex sipped from her champagne glass and looked at him like he was a bug. "Thanks," she groaned.

* * *

Nathan and Haley walked down the hallway towards the lobby, away from the business party to talk.

"Let me explain why she's here," he stated.

"I know why she's here. She's here to ruin my life!" she snapped.

"Look, I didn't invite her here, okay? My mom set me up on a blind date and it just happened to be Alex."

"Yeah. Tim told me that you had a date today. I didn't think it would be Alex. Of all people it had to be her?" she groaned and shook her head in annoyance.

"I don't know what else to do about it. My parents are in the room. I can't act like a jerk in front of all these people. So I'm going to tolerate being her date for the night. Since I'm doing that, try to be calm about it, okay?"

She scoffed in disbelief. _He's going to act like her date for the rest of the night right in front of me? Does he know how that would make me feel? . . . Maybe not. Maybe he doesn't know. I can't prevent him from going out with other people especially Alex. It's not like I'm his girlfriend or anything. . . Ugh._

"How can I be calm with her around?"

"Just try. I don't want my dad to think I hired reckless delinquents at my cafe," he stated.

Haley gave him a face and looked way, irritated. But she had to admit that she had to be a professional about this. Nathan taught her to keep her personal life out of her business life. And she's been doing well so far. She's gotten over Julian and practically started her life over, but with Alex still lingering around and Julian begging for her back, it was hard to completely get rid of her past life. This was obviously an important event for Nathan and the business. The café's reputation was practically at stake here. She had to put on a serious face and get over herself and do this for Nathan.

"Fine," she answered.

"We made a promise anyways. Let's keep supporting each other, okay? I still have your back."

She sighed and smiled at his response. "Let's get this show rolling."

* * *

A half an hour later, Haley was chewing on one of the hors d'oeuvres from the buffet table as she observed Nathan shaking hands with a couple businessmen. He looked really professional. Not one piece of his body looked nervous. It was impressive to be able to see such an immature man grow into a matured one.

"Nathan looks extremely hott, doesn't he?"

Haley turned around and found Alex standing there with a wine glass in her hand. She swallowed the last of her food and glared her ex-best friend. How dare she even approach her like this? Scratch that, how dare she even come to this event? She didn't belong here. Her place was at the bar.

"What do you want, Alex?"

"Nothing. Just hanging around and watching my man work it."

Haley cringed at the sound of her calling Nathan her man.

"Did you come here to ruin my life some more?" Haley questioned.

Alex guffawed. "You think I'm going to waste my time trying to ruin your life, Haley Bop? Don't be silly. I came here for Nathan," she answered, returning her focus back to him. "Why? Are you affected by the fact that Nathan's here with me and not you?"

"Huh?"

"You two are pretty close aren't you?"

"I guess," she answered. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing. Just wondering," she answered. Alex took a second to glance at Haley's whole attire. Surprisingly, she found Haley looking prettier than before. Her aura just screamed 'different'. "Are you going to pull my hair again tonight too?" she questioned, ignoring how appearance.

Haley rolled her eyes and grabbed another hors d'oeuvre from the buffet table. "Not even worth it."

Alex nodded and sipped from her glass. It was pretty obvious that those two were pretty close, so she thought maybe if she tried to patch things up with Haley she would have chance with him.

"Well since I'm not here to ruin your life and you're not here to ruin mine, let's pretend like none of this ever happened and be chums again?"

Chewing on her food, Haley's eyes furrowed and looked at Alex like she was stupid. How could she pretend that nothing happened and then be her friend again? That was impossible and the last that she wanted. She will never forgive her for what she's done. They gave her a gaping hole in her chest for goodness sakes. She couldn't forgive someone who's done that much damage to her emotionally.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. I'm being serious about this Haley-Bop. You and I both know that we're too good for that Julian Baker. We shouldn't let him get in between our friendship."

Haley cringed at the nickname and looked away, her jaw tightening. "I think I'll pass."

"Are you sure? In all honesty, he's the one who left you. He should take all the blame for breaking you guys up. But I didn't walk away from you like he did."

I can't believe she's saying all this right now. "I don't have to talk to you about this again, Alex. All of that is in the past and even though it's in the past, I haven't forgotten about what you did. Whether you admit it or not, you betrayed me. I'm not going to forgive you for that. Got it?"

"Wow," Alex clapped. "You developed some confidence. Why? Is it because you're surrounded by other men now?"

Haley scoffed in disbelief. "I think I'm going to get another plate of these and leave." She turned around to grab a plate of more of the hors d'oeuvres and attempted to walk away, but Alex just had to say something to stop her.

"You know I like Nathan, right?"

"I'm not surprised."

"Then you should know that I will make him like me."

"And you're telling me this because . . . ?"

"Don't act so naïve, Haley."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Alex groaned and sipped from her glass. "Whatever. I'm just going to tell you this. He's going to be mine whether you like it or not."

Haley's jaw tightened and glanced at Nathan who wasn't too far away from them.

"He won't like you," she told her.

Alex chuckled. "You've been my friend for a long time. Every guy I like always likes me back."

"Do you even hear yourself right now? You sound ridiculous."

"You're the one who's ridiculous!"

Haley laughed. "Nice comeback there."

"Why are you laughing as if it's not going to happen? Do you think you're good enough for him?"

"That's not even an option," she stated.

"Yeah you're right because you're pitiful. There's no competition between me and you. Julian chose me in the end, right? He's only begging for you back because I don't want him anymore. He thinks you'll forgive him and take him back because he knows you give in too easily. You're a push over."

Haley's heart sank and out of nowhere, her hand swung over and slapped Alex across the cheek. Everyone surrounding them saw what happened especially Deb. Holding her cheek, Alex glared at Haley with fury. Deb quickly ran over to the two to comfort one of them. A few seconds later, Alex threw her champagne at Haley and in return, Haley shoved her towards the buffet table, knocking down the ice sculpture. It shattered all over the ground in an instant.

"Oh my gosh!" Deb exclaimed, approaching them. She was stunned by the incident and helped Alex up from the floor. Nathan glanced away from the group of people he was talking to and walked over to the scene.

Haley's eyes widened at the sight and wiped the liquid from her face. When she realized that Alex had already taken Debra's respect, she knew she wouldn't be able to explain herself in front of all these people. She had already done enough. So she ran away from the crowd to escape further humiliation.

Nathan watched as she walked out of the ballroom and then glanced Alex who was being comforted by his mother. He shook his head in disbelief and ran off to catch up with Haley.

"Nathan!" Deb called out. He ignored her and disappeared from her sight.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hi my loves! I'm back with a new chapter for the new year. It's probably one of the hardest and probably shortest chapters I've written so far. I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a wonderful New Year! I have many goals and resolutions for this year. Hopefully I can accomplish them. But I see that my goal to complete this story before 2011 didn't work out as planned. Oh wells. I guess my new goal is to complete this story no matter how much time it takes me to write it all. hehe. Anyways thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews and love you've all been giving me. As I said before this will be a 20 chapter story. I hope you like this chapter. I've deleted and rewrote this chapter countless times and I hope this will satisfy all of you. Your words are all a blessing. I also want to thank Maria****, personally, for always giving me motivation and inspiring words to keep me going.** Thank you everyone for the courage! **:) **

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Haley quickly ran out of the hotel to disappear from the embarrassment that she had caused Nathan's family, their company and the café. There was no way she was going to stay there one second longer. After seeing the way Nathan's mother looked at her with such anger and shame, she knew that she had done something absolutely and completely horrendous.

But the words that Alex told her, ridiculing her as if they were never friends in the past, was one of the most painful things Haley had ever heard. It was hard enough to have her steal her fiance, but to treat her this way, so cruelly and horribly, was disgusting.

As Haley made her way to the corner of the hotel, she clutched her fist against her chest to try and protect the pain in her heart. But the tears fell anyways. The scar was always going to be there. It was something she couldn't forget so quickly. Honestly, the hardest part about it was the fact that Julian and Alex were two people she gave her whole heart to. She trusted them. She believed them. She loved them. And to have them stab her in the back like she was nothing , like she was a piece of trash on the street, like they weren't even that close in the first place, hurt the most. How could she trust anybody else if the two people she truly cared for betrayed her?

Nathan jogged out towards the lobby in hope to find the girl in the black dress. He should've predicted that things wouldn't turn out as planned. Having Alex here wasn't a good idea. If only it was possible to warn his parents about this kind of situation beforehand, but that was highly unlikely. It would be completely pointless and stupid of him to expose Haley's dramatic past to his parents. If only he could've avoided this situation.

He stopped jogging once he reached the main lobby of the hotel. Searching left and right, far and wide, there was no familiar girl in sight. He scratched the back of his neck in frustration and walked around the place some more. Still nothing. So he decided to look outside. It was the only place that seemed convenient when something disastrous happened like the incident in the ballroom.

Nathan pushed through the revolving doors and looked around for Haley. She was walking down the sidewalk, shaking her head at the ground. He knew that she regretted that moment inside. He knew very well that she wasn't proud of her what she had done. But he understood her reasons. She didn't even have to tell him.

He quickly ran after her, before she could make an exit, and grabbed her arm and twirled her around to him.

"Where are you going? Are you running away?"

She just looked down without an answer.

"Haley," he began. She glanced up with watery eyes. Right then, he knew that yelling at her wasn't going to help the problem at all. It ached him inside to see her that way. "Haley," he said softly.

"Please, just leave me alone."

"Just talk to me," he begged. "What happened in there? What did Alex say to you?"

Haley closed her eyes to push away the pain. She didn't want to continue crying in front of him.

"It doesn't matter what she said. I shouldn't have lost it. You told me to relax and be calm but I didn't," she stated. "I failed you. I'm not strong."

"Stop it," he ordered. "You are strong."

"Obviously, I'm not!" she snapped. "I embarrassed you and your family in there. I hit Alex in the face and shoved her in the tables. How can you call that strong? Maybe you and Alex are right._ I am pitiful_."

Nathan sighed deeply and shook his head. "Maybe it wasn't your best decision, but you're still human, Haley. I may have criticized you for being like this in the past, but I can't stop you from hurting. We have our weak moments sometimes, but we learn from them. It will get better eventually."

Haley felt her lips tremble. The pain inside was so hard to bear, she wasn't sure she could handle it anymore. She thought that everything would fade away and stay buried in the past, but with Julian and Alex still being around, bugging her at every corner that she turned to, it was impossible for her to escape from that agony.

She began to shake her head. "I don't think it will ever go away."

"Haley," he said softly, holding her arms in his hands gently. "Trust me, it will, okay? You got me, your family, the guys at the café. We're all here to help you."

She looked down. "I trusted them. I gave them everything that I was willing to offer. My love. My friendship. And they betrayed me," she explained. "They were the ones I turned to when I couldn't depend on my own family. I was already torn after my father died. They knew how much pain I was in. But they still abandoned me. How could they treat me this way? Why did I deserve this? Huh? How could I trust anyone else?" she cried.

Nathan furrowed his eyes, shocked by the mention of her father. He never knew about her father. She never talked about him. But it was pretty obvious why she never did. She must've loved him a lot and to have him taken away from her and her family must've broken her heart. And to have something happen again to break it some more was unbearable. She really was a fragile girl. There was so much to her that he didn't know. If only he knew that she was this breakable and damaged already, then he wouldn't have ridiculed her in the past. He would've been careful with his words. But he didn't know. Not until now.

"You can trust us. We're not going to abandon you. Haley. _I'm _not going to abandon you," he answered with true confidence. Haley could see it in the way his eyes looked at her. She could hear it in the tone of his voice. No matter how much pain she was in, he was able to sooth it away. "We made a promise. Remember? We're always going to stay by each other's side and support one another. I'm not going to break it. Do you hear me?"

Haley struggled to answer him. The emotions were overwhelming, it took over her body, and she had no control. Everything that she was burying away inside of her was slowly revealing itself again. It was emotionally painful for her. But through that sadness - that ache in her chest - she was able to feel something. Something good. Something she figured was strength, improvement, hope. And it was because of Nathan.

She looked up at him, his grip tighter around her arms as if he was desperate for an answer, and she observed him for a moment. She realized how much he had given her. The numerous times he saved her. She figured that somehow maybe this was her father's way of giving her something to hold onto. Someone who was similar to him. Nathan was here for a reason. He was there to be the one guy she could truly depend on.

"Did you hear me, Haley?" he repeated.

She nodded and bit her lip to push away her tears, but they fell anyways. Nathan noticed how she sobbed silently in front of him, so he pulled her in gently into his arms and he embraced her close to his chest - to give her warmth and support that he promised he would always give her.

**

* * *

**

"Do you think Haley will care if we're not home, tonight?" Vivian questioned as she ate piece of her pork chop from her plate.

Lydia sipped from her lemonade glass and shook her head. "Nah. She's at a very elegant party right now. She's always wanted to go to fancy events like that. I bet she's having the time of her life.."

Right after Haley left the house, Lydia and Vivian decided to go out and eat. Since Vivian had been studying hard for her finals, her mother figured it would be a nice treat to give her. She had been working really hard too at the Paint Shop. Although she dreaded it, she still went and did her job like she was supposed to. But she was longing for the day where she didn't have to work there again. The only reason why she was there in the first place was because of the debt they owed Nathan. It almost seemed like everyone forgot about it. But the debt was still there and Vivian was waiting for it to be done so she could stop working and live her life again.

* * *

Haley walked up the steps to her house door and dug through her purse to find her keys. Usually Vivian would be standing in the open doorway before she could even reach it, but oddly she didn't do that. As Haley was digging through her tiny purse, she realized that she couldn't find her keys anywhere inside. She panicked a little bit and decided to knock on the door for someone to open it. But no one answered. She knocked again, but yet again no answer.

Nathan watched from his car and noticed that Haley was still standing outside the door. Right after he comforted her at the hotel, he offered to bring her home so that she could clear her mind. He even told Tim and apologized to his parents for leaving in the middle of the party. They were definitely not happy about it especially his mother. Deb was didn't like the fact that he just ditched his date. But he wasn't going to stay with her anyways. Alex was not worthy of his time.

Haley groaned and pulled out her phone. When she flipped it open, she realized that her phone was dead.

"Great," she mumbled.

Nathan climbed out of his car and walked over to her, his hands in his pockets, wondering what was going on.

"No one's home?" he questioned.

Haley looked over her shoulder, her eyes clearly still puffy from her crying earlier, and pouted. "Unfortunately. I don't even have my keys and somehow my phone is dead."

Nathan nodded, not surprised by Haley's lack of luck, and craned his neck to see if there was any shadows behind the curtains.

"You can go," she stated. "I'll just sit here and wait." She sat down on the door step and slouched over her knees.

He sighed at the sight of her melancholy figure and slowly sat right next to her.

"I'm not going to just leave you here. It's cold and you're wearing a dress. Your phone is dead, you have no clue where your mom and sister are and you don't have a house key."

"Well Mr. Scott, what do you expect from me? I'm bad luck," she pouted over her knees.

He chuckled and shook his head. Then he glanced at her and recalled the moment when she revealed that her father died.

"I'm sorry about your father," he stated.

Haley didn't move an inch nor did she look at him. Her eyes were frozen and looking at a further distance.

"It's okay. It was a long time ago."

"If you don't mind me asking. How did it -"

"He was sick," she cut in. "I was only twelve and Vivian was only eight. It was around this time of the year. Freezing cold and snowy. My dad was a construction worker so he worked outside a lot. He even worked through rough weather because he was really passionate about his job, you know. He was very strong. Until he fell sick with pneumonia. My mother didn't think it was so serious until he had to be hospitalized. We all thought he was going to be okay in just a few days but he didn't. I was at school when I heard that he passed away. I was hoping to see him after class one last time, but he was already gone."

Nathan watched as Haley's eyes became watery once again.

"I miss him every day," she continued.

"I bet you do. I'm sure he was a good man."

"He was. He was the most important man in my life. I can still remember very vivid memories from my childhood. He was funny. Strong. He always gave me piggy back rides even though I was too big for him to carry. And every day in the month of mine and Vivian's birthdays, he would come home with a little cupcake."

"Just one?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Yeah just one?"

"Why?"

"Because his job was kind of dependent on his presence and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to celebrate our birthdays with us. So he came home every day with a cupcake to make up for missing our special day."

"Wow," he smiled. "He was also a smart man. So he made sure you felt good every day for that month in order for you to be happy on your birthday even though he wasn't there?"

"Exactly."

"Does your mom take over that tradition?"

"No," she answered sadly. "Since she's always with us on our birthdays, there's no need for that."

Nathan noticed a little disappointment in her face when she answered that. It looked like the cupcake tradition really meant a lot to her. Even though thirteen years have past since her father's passing, that memory was something she missed a lot. "Well when's your birthday?"

"The end of January," she answered.

"That's soon."

"Yeah."

A few seconds later, they both noticed how white flakes started falling from the sky. Haley held out her hand and watched as the little bits dissolved into her palm.

"It's snowing," she smiled.

Nathan stood up from the steps and offered his hand to her. "Come on."

"Huh?"

"It's snowing and you can't get in your house. So come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Some place familiar."

* * *

"I just don't understand your son sometimes," Deb complained inside the car as she tried to adjust her purse beside her. They were on the way home from the party since the scene earlier kind of ruined the atmosphere. The ice sculpture was shattered and there was a big mess on the buffet table which kind of destroyed the rest of the night. "I can't believe he just left Alex for that girl. Who was she anyways?"

"Tim said she's an employee at Chivalry."

"She works with Nathan?"

"Apparently. At least we know that he's concerned about his employees."

"But did you see what she did in there? It was reckless and cheap of her to do something like that in an environment like this. How could Nathan bring someone like that to our business party?"

Dan sighed deeply as he peeked outside the window. "What do you want me to do about it, Deb? Nathan has a mind of his own. He doesn't care about what we think or say."

"You should've given him a position at the company instead of making him start a stupid café and hiring ridiculous people to represent our company. It would be a lot easier for him to do a simple job instead of a huge job like this. Your putting too much pressure on him, Dan. He doesn't even know what he's doing."

"Deb, I wanted him to manage this cafe because I wanted him to start from ground zero. I wanted him to learn and develop his character as a man and as a businessman. I'm not going to let him have the easy way out."

"Well, I'm not too sure he understands that. I think he's just doing what he's told in order for you to get off his back."

"I know that Nathan is your only child and you only want what's best for him - a nice wife with a good paying job, but Deb, you have to realize that we can't let him live off of our money and not work for it. He's the heir to this company. We have to teach him how to manage a simple business before he could step into my shoes as the next CEO."

Deb sighed deeply and glanced out her window when she noticed the snow falling from the sky.

"We should've disciplined him more when he was younger. Maybe this is our fault that Nathan became this way. We weren't being good parents."

"It wasn't our fault. Nathan decided to choose his own path, but at least we're giving him another chance."

Deb didn't say anything. She just thought about the moment she observed the girl who pushed Alex against the buffet table. The girl in the black dress looked so stunned from her actions as if she regretted everything that just happened. Deb had no clue who she was and why she was there in the first place, but she seemed like she was a very important person to Nathan since he jetted out of the ballroom and never came back. He didn't even check if Alex was okay. It made Deb a little curious of the matter.

**

* * *

**

"Remember that couch upstairs?" Nathan questioned as he and Haley walked inside of his bachelor pad.

"Yea."

"You can use that for the night," he answered as he slipped off his shoes and removed his coat.

Haley stopped in her tracks and turned to him curiously. _The night? _"You're going to let me stay here?"

"Just for the night since you have no where else to go right now," he answered. "I'll go grab you a pillow and some blankets for you to use. If you want anything to eat, I have some snacks in the pantry over there." He motioned his finger towards his left and she followed. "I'll set up your couch."

She nodded and watched him as he climbed up the stairs. Once he disappeared from her sight, she placed her purse on the couch and wandered towards the pantry where Nathan told her to look in. She opened the door and found a bunch of chips and dips and desserts and junk food. It was all mouth-watering. Since all the hor d' oeurves from the party didn't fill her up, she was happy to see the sight of real human food. So she grabbed a couple small bags of Doritos and three packs of Debbie's desserts. After grabbing those, she began to admire more of the things inside that made her mouth drool even more. She couldn't take it any longer so she grabbed a lot more into her arms.

As she turned around, she found Nathan looking at her strangely from bottom of the stairs with a t-shirt and pajama pants in his arms.

"Are you trying to steal all my food?" he questioned.

"Um." She glanced at the bundle of snacks in her arms and grew embarrassment. "I was hungry. I'm not used to bite sized pieces of escargot and other expensive hor d'ouerves."

Nathan chuckled and shook his head. Then he walked over towards her and showed her the clothing.

"Here's something to wear so you can get out of that dress. I'm sure you wouldn't want to sleep in that for the night."

"Thanks," she answered. She tried to grab it but her arms were full as it is. So she decided just drop the snacks on the floor and grabbed the clothes. Immediately Nathan gave her a stern look, a little annoyed that she just did that. "I'll pick it up once I finish changing."

He rolled his eyes and motioned her to go the bathroom. "Just go."

She shuffled past him, towards the bathroom and then shut the door behind her to change. Once she locked the door, she observed the clothes and noticed that they were about two times larger than her own clothing. The t-shirt practically covered up her whole body. She wasn't going to risk just wearing a t-shirt around Nathan. Luckily, the pajama bottoms had an adjustable waist.

She stepped in front of the sink and glanced at her face in the mirror. Haley could see the puffiness of her eyes and the mascara smeared a little bit underneath. Although she was still struggling with the post events of her break up and suffering from the pain that still remained, she remembered that she wasn't alone. She had Nathan, the guys and her family. She was lucky to still have them around. And she really trusted Nathan's words. She took a longer look at herself and felt a sudden chill at the thought of him. She never thought she'd ever admit it or realize it, but after Nathan chased after her and pulled her into his tight embrace, she felt something flutter in her stomach and a warmth in her chest. Haley was starting to fall for the guy. She was falling so hard, she wasn't sure she could just get rid of the feelings. It was already deep. She figured that it was not even possible to stop it from happening.

Quickly, she washed her face with cold water to clear her thoughts and dried her face with the towels hanging on the wall. Moments later she stepped out of the bathroom and walked into the living room. She noticed that her snacks were no longer on the floor and were now on the coffee table. Then she heard sounds coming from the kitchen. So she walked towards it and found Nathan standing in front of the stove. He was still in his white button shirt and nice pants from the party.

Nathan heard her come in so he turn away from the stove and noticed how she was in his clothes. It was so big on her, but somehow she looked cute in them. Better than other women who have ever had the opportunity to stay the night in his house or with him.

"I'm sorry," she stated, climbing onto the stool by the counter.

"Sorry for what?"

"For everything I put you through," she replied. "I know I've been a burden to you."

He sighed deeply as he grabbed two packets from the box of hot chocolate. "I wouldn't say a burden. It's just tiring to have to deal with so much at one time."

"Stop lying. I know you. You hated me in the beginning."

He smirked. "Maybe so, but you're not a burden, Haley. You're not the only person with issues. But I have to admit that I haven't been through so much drama and chaos in my life like this before."

"Again, I'm sorry."

He smiled as he ripped the packets open and poured them into each mug he had prepared earlier. "Nah, it's okay. All I know is that ever since I met you, my life has been pretty exciting."

"Really? You think it's exciting?" she asked, surprised.

"Well it hasn't been boring."

"Was your life boring before?"

Nathan chuckled and grabbed the pot of boiling water. "Not particularly. Ever since I graduated from college I spent my time traveling around a lot and exploring places rather than working."

"So you partied a lot? I'm not surprised."

"I did in the beginning but then I just started traveling just to get the experience of actually being in those places rather than drinking away my days."

"Where did you go?"

He gently poured each mug with the boiling water. "Recently, before I started the cafe, I was spending time at the Bahamas. It was my second time there. I went surfing, snorkeling, visited many islands, met some pretty awesome people, and tried to enjoy the time I had there. I also visited some of the states along the coast, France, Spain, Rome, Greece, Japan, and a few others."

"Wow!" she gasped. "You went to all of those places? How?"

"I think you forgot that my father is the CEO of a major marketing company in the state of North Carolina."

"Oh, I forgot," she answered. "Lucky bastard. I wish I could go to all of those places."

He chuckled and handed her the mug. "Maybe you can."

"Pshh. How? I don't have enough money."

"You can use your paintings."

"They're not worth enough to go to places like France and Greece."

"_They were enough for me_," Nathan admitted.

Haley held a soft gaze with Nathan when he said that. She felt the sincerity in his voice and she could tell from the twinkle in his eyes that he was serious. And it made the feelings she had discovered tingle inside of her. She smiled.

* * *

Alex was sitting at the bar in Club Infinity, sipping from her drink, glancing at her cell phone that was filled with photos of her and Haley from the past. Every single one she clicked on, she deleted.

_Why does she get the good guys? What does she have that I don't have? I'm beautiful. I'm sexier. I'm fun. She wears ugly clothes and barely parties. She's a born klutz and she's . . . _

She couldn't think of anything else horrible about Haley. There was nothing she could criticize about her besides her outer appearance and her clumsiness. Haley's inner beauty and personality were the two things Alex envied ever since they became friends back high school. It seemed easy for Haley to attract attention from people just by her genuine smile and comfort. It was something that Alex tried to perfect but could never accomplish. And it made her mad that she wasn't able to grasp that lovely quality.

She deleted the last photo of Haley and searched for Nathan's number. He didn't even text her or call her after he jetted out of the ballroom. His mother had to pass the message to her which wasn't exactly what she wanted. Although he was kind enough to inform her about his absence, she wasn't satisfied with his actions. He ran after Haley rather than comforting her. But it was pretty obvious that Nathan and Haley had a strong relationship. She wasn't sure what they were yet, probably in the midst of becoming something.

Alex didn't think it was fair that Haley - of all people- was able to receive such luck to find charming, caring guys and she couldn't. Alex couldn't even make one guy -out of the hundred she's slept with and dated- want more from her. She could never accomplish such a deed which was the reason why she stole Julian away from Haley because he had the qualities in a man that she couldn't find anywhere else. The only thing was that he belonged to Haley. And the only way she could have him was to seduce the guy and make him fall out of love with her. Her goal was successful but her consequences were chaotic.

Now that Julian was another piece of garbage thrown to the side because everything didn't turn out as planned, she had to find someone else who had the best potential. And somehow she found the guys who admired Haley as the perfect ones. Particular one being Nathan.

Dialing his number, she waited for him to pick up.

From his bedroom, Nathan heard the sound of his ring tone on his bedside table. Sitting up, he reached over and grabbed his cell. He wasn't sleeping, so it wasn't a big deal. He couldn't sleep for some reason. After drinking the hot cocoa and chatting a little bit with Haley in order to make her feel better, he went to bed and didn't even sleep a single minute.

"Hello?"

"Nathan," Alex began. "Where are you?"

"Who is this?"

"Alex. Did you not save my number?"

Nathan sighed deeply at the name and shook his head. After what she did to Haley again, she was no longer someone he even wanted to be acquainted with much less talk to on the phone.

"Alex, I want you to do me a favor," he stated, ignoring her question.

"And what is that?"

"Leave me alone."

She furrowed her eyes. "What?"

"I want you to leave me alone from now on. I don't want anything to do with you."

"What? Why?"

Nathan craned his neck to peek out of his door to see if there was any motions from the living area Haley was sleeping in. He didn't want her to hear him on the phone, so he lowered his voice.

"For the sake of everything, don't talk to me and just leave Haley alone. I think she's suffered enough."

" . . ."

"The reason I am saying this is because I don't want Haley to hurt anymore. I know what happened between you two and Julian. Things haven't been going well for her and having you two continuously appear in her life, she will never get healed. So stay away."

"Nathan, you haven't even given me a chance."

"You didn't have one from the beginning," he answered before hanging up.

Alex held the phone to her ear, listening to the sound of the dial tone, and pulled it away slowly in full surprise and heart break. Her jaw began to tighten and a fierce pain her chest developed. The rims of her eyes began to form tears and held her phone tightly into her hand.

This was the first time Alex had ever been rejected by anyone. She never knew how it felt to feel so vulnerable and pitiful like this before. All she ever wanted was to have someone who was willing to love her and cater because she was genuine enough to receive that privilege. But after this, after feeling such a painful ache in her heart, she realized that not everyone can get what they really want. No matter how much you hope for it, sometimes it can never be grasped if you hope for it with bad intentions.

* * *

Placing his phone back on his side table, he climbed out of bed to find something to eat downstairs. Walking down the hall, he heard a few little whimpering noises from the couch Haley was sleeping on. Craning his neck at the sound, he quietly made his way towards her and observed her sleeping figure beneath the two blankets that were warming her up. Underneath the darkness, he could see something twinkle on her cheek. His eyes furrowed and he leaned in closer to check on it. _It was a tear_. Once he realized that she was crying in her sleep, he felt sad for her and for himself. He still couldn't take away her pain. Maybe it wasn't pain from the betrayal of her former fiance and best friend, but a deeper pain that had been building up inside of her. Maybe the death of her father was still a very painful memory that she couldn't seem to erase.

Kneeling down next to her, he wiped away the single tear that was making its way down her cheek. Her skin was soft and fragile. Haley was a lot more angelic than he expected her to be. She was driven and passionate about everything she did. Her paintings, working at two jobs, supporting her family, caring for her friends, keeping her promises, and remaining by his side to make his parents proud of him were a few examples of how genuine and lovely she actually was. She even took care of her cheating fiance when he was drunk the other night. Even though Nathan knew she loathed him for betraying her love and trust, Haley still managed to use her huge heart to take care of him because of her morals and kindness. She was remarkable and he falling hard for her.

Before he could part ways with her beautiful self, he developed the courage to place a soft kiss on her tear-stained cheek, hoping that maybe it will help her heal a little bit. Maybe it would give him the opportunity to fill that void of her father and to be the man that Julian couldn't be, then maybe Haley's pain would go away and disappear. He'd be the one who would erase everything for her.

Parting away, he tucked a piece of hair from her face and went on to do what he had intended to do before he heard the sounds of cries. So he walked down stairs, grabbed himself a quick snack and a glass of water, ate and drank, then he headed back upstairs to return to his sleep.

As soon as his door shut, Haley's eyes fluttered open, still feeling the warmth of his lips on her skin. Then she closed her eyes and faded back into her slumber with a smile on her lips.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/n: Well, Hello my friends! I'm back with another one! I tried my best to make this longer than the last chapter. I am really thankful again for all of the reviews. I'm thankful for such awesome readers who motivate me every day. & sadly, yes Babycakes, this is a 20 chapter story. It's easier for me to have a small amount of chapters that are long rather than many chapters that are short, you know what I mean? lol. NS2095, I love how you said you can recite the dialogue of the story. Wow! That made me squeal from excitement lol. Thank you for making me smile and to everyone who reads my work. I hope everyone had a wonderful week. To those of you who returned back to school, best of luck! Study hard! lol.  
**

**anyways, here's the next chapter. I hope it's not confusing. I wrote this on different days. My mind's all jumbled up. haha. oh wells. Enjoy!**

_Love,_  
_Annie_

* * *

**Chapter 16.**

Nathan sipped from his glass of orange juice and thought about the night before and how strongly it affected him. Watching Haley run away and seeing her tears fall down her fragile skin, he knew that he couldn't abandon that girl. Even if he wanted to, it was impossible for him to pull himself away. She needed him and for some odd reason, he needed her too. There was no denying how deeply he felt about her. Among other girls he's met and dated, she was the only one who was able to make him want to stay by her side and want to grow as a man. She was the only person he felt could be his friend at the same time as his lover.

Taking another sip from his glass, he heard a couple of knocks coming from the front door. As he was walking towards it, he heard someone yawn behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he found Haley stretching her arms out beside her. He chuckled to himself and motioned her towards the kitchen where he prepared some frozen waffles. Then he returned to the door and swung it open, revealing his mother.

"Mom?"

"Nathan, we need to talk," she began, stepping inside the house without his permission. As soon as she walked into the foyer area, she saw Haley standing behind the counter in nothing but Nathan's clothes. Her hair was unkempt and it obviously looked like she stayed the night which made it seem like they were a little busy the night before. "What is she doing here?"

"Mom, it's not what it looks like," Nathan managed to say, stepping next to her. Haley stopped moving around in the kitchen and looked at the well-dressed woman nervously.

"What is she doing here?" she repeated.

"Mrs. Scott, about yesterday," she began. "I'm sorry."

Deb scoffed and crossed her arms. "Sorry? Sorry! You ruined our party! You embarrassed us!"

"Mom, calm down please. This is all just a misunderstanding."

His mother turned to him. "What did she do right for you to defend her? Why is she in your house this early in the morning? With your clothes on for that matter? Did she sleep here, Nathan?"

"Mom, let me explain. Okay. Just calm down for a minute."

"Are you trying to upset me? How could you let someone like _her _step into your house?"

"Because I allowed it. She's done no harm."

"No harm? Look what she did last night!"

"Mom-"

"I thought she was your employee? Why would you let your employee just prance around your house in the morning wearing your house clothes? Not only is she your employee, but she's a girl. This is not responsible, Nathan. It's not professional of you! Plus, how could you just run out in the middle of the business party, leaving everyone and Alex behind?"

He huffed out a breath and glanced at Haley who was hesitating to make a move from behind the counter. Alex and everyone else was the last thing on his mind at the time. "I had other priorities to take care of. I apologize for walking away last night. Hopefully you and dad can forgive me. I spent enough time there. Leaving early is not going to do me any harm."

Deb observed Haley as she stepped out from behind the counter, leaving her breakfast and slowly walked towards them. She definitely didn't give his mother a good impression of herself. Slapping another girl across the face and shoving her against a buffet table at an elegant event such as the one last night was very unclassy of her.

"If I had known you were already playing around with other women, I wouldn't have set you up with Alex," she stated, her eyes fixed on Haley. "But you could've at least picked a cultured woman."

"MOM!" he snapped.

Haley moved her eyes down at her feet and clasped her hands together in shame. It was obvious that his mother didn't approve of her. She wasn't surprised though. She made a mistake of showing her weakness in front of many wealthy and important people the previous night. It was her fault for being selfish and stupid for not thinking of her actions. But she had to deal with the consequences.

Looking up, Haley spoke. "I apologize again for being a nuisance at the business party and causing such a stir after the incident. I agree that I am definitely not a cultured woman. I am not even qualified to be playing around with your son."

"Haley, stop. Okay?" Nathan advised, gently. "You don't have to apologize."

"I want to. _I have to_."

Deb furrowed her eyes at the two young adults. "What kind of relationship do you two have?" They both gazed at each other questioningly, not speaking one word, and wondered what they were. Admitting they were friends was an understatement. Confessing their true feelings was a bit scary. So they let the silence take charge of that answer.

"Whatever it is, it will not work," Deb continued, surprising both of them. "He is your boss, my son, and future CEO of our company and you're his employee. I don't know your family, where you live or how you were raised, but this isn't going to work. _It will not_. I'm not going to let an unsophisticated girl seduce my son."

"Mom!" Nathan snapped. "Would you stop? I don't understand how you could assume such cruel things about someone you don't even know! Just because we're a part of some high status family doesn't mean we can judge freely and reject so easily."

Deb could feel the intensity in his voice as he defended the other woman in the room. It was strange for her to hear him exert this kind of emotion over a woman like her. He had never done that before.

"I am sorry once again. I don't want to cause any trouble within your family," Haley stated.

"No, you're not causing any trouble, Haley. My mom is just jumping into conclusions."

Haley knew that Nathan wanted his parents to be proud of him. That couldn't be possible if things continued as it did. Obviously, his mother disapproved of her and wanted her to stay away in order to keep him safe. Haley knew that she was reckless and a burden to him. Even though he said that she wasn't and that his life was more exciting than he expected, she still felt guilty for everything that she put him through. She promised to support him and to help him make his parents proud. She was going to keep that promise. And if distancing herself away was the way to go then maybe things would turn out better for him. His parents would be happy and proud of his accomplishments. If he reaches that goal, she'd feel less guilty of her actions.

"I think I'm going to leave," Haley stated.

Nathan furrowed his eyes. "What?"

"I have work," was all that she said. She turned around to grab her clothes that she left in the downstairs bathroom and slipped into her shoes. "I'll see you later," she said looking at Nathan.

"How are you going to get there?"

"Bus," she answered. She turned to Deb and smiled. She wasn't sure if she should say anything to surprise or make her angry, so she just smiled and left without a word.

Once she shut the door behind her, Nathan glanced at his mother who didn't seem satisfied or a slight bit ashamed for what she had done.

"Does she look like an unsophisticated girl to you? She formally said sorry to you three times and you passed judgment by rejecting every one. And I thought I was the selfish one in this family," Nathan stated before he climbed up the stairs, leaving his mother distraught and stunned by her own son's words.

* * *

Filling up the napkin containers, Clay noticed how Nathan seemed really distant at work. He was standing behind the counter, gazing blankly at the mural that Haley had painted on the wall. He assumed that something happened the previous night because he was quieter and less obnoxious than before.

"It must be about Haley," Tim stated, handing Clay another pack of napkins.

"What happened last night?"

"Alex showed up and somehow they got in an argument concluding Haley slapping her in the face and shoving her against the buffet table," Tim mumbled, careful not to be so loud for others to hear. But Jake was listening from around the corner as he set up the tables.

"What? Haley did that?"

"Yeah and she ran from the scene. She was probably ashamed. I would be too," Tim continued. "Nathan ran after her and he took care of her for the rest of the night."

"You think something happened between them?"

"Who knows. Maybe not. Nathan doesn't seem too thrilled. Because if something did, he would be happier than he is now."

Jake became concerned about Haley after overhearing what happened the previous night and quickly pulled out his cell phone to text her.

_Hey. Are you doing okay? I heard what happened._

A few minutes later she responded saying: _It's been going around I see. But yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, bud. I'm a tough girl. I'll see you at work!_

Jake was content with that answer and pushed his cell back into his pocket and continued to clean the tables. Then he glanced at Nathan whose eyes were still attached the first mural that Haley had created in the café.

He was trying observe the mural, searching for the true meaning of it and the story that made Haley think of painting a couple instead of a single boy or a single girl. He wanted to know why both? Was it because she thought it was romantic and pretty? Did she have a written story behind it and decided to bring it to life? He wanted to know to see if it matched with his perception of it.

He believed that the two people sitting together drinking the coffee were from two different worlds. They challenged each other because they were completely opposite of each other. One was rich and the other was poor. But at the end of the day, they were both living in the same world, living a regular human life, and making difficult decisions . As long as they had each other, everything was fine and they were content with that.

Just like his view of the painting, at the end of the day, him and Haley were two people living in the same world, living a human life, and making difficult decisions.

* * *

Sitting in the backroom of the Paint Shop, a dry paint brush in her hand, Haley began to think of what she had to do in the next couple of months. After speaking to her sister at the house and telling her about the incident at the business party, Vivian informed her about the debt that they still owed Nathan. She had forgotten all about that. Vivian wanted to know when the day she could stop working at the Paint Shop was going to be because she couldn't work there forever. She still had school and a social life to be active in. Although Haley despised how her little sister acted in her so called "social life", she couldn't let her suffer. If they completed their debt then that meant she had to return to her regular hours at the Paint Shop and quit Chivalry, leaving Nathan and the guys behind. She really didn't want to do that, but she didn't want to be a burden to him any longer.

Her feelings for Nathan were so strong. They were so strong, she was willing to risk it to make his life better. The kiss in the cheek may have given her a hint that Nathan probably felt the same way, but like his mother said, they couldn't work. They were from two different worlds.

Glancing at the unfinished painting in front of her, she realized that this piece was what Nathan fell in love with when they first began this chaotic journey. She wanted to finish it and somehow give it to him as a present. She just didn't know how to complete it.

With her cell phone sitting on her lap, she heard it ring so she picked it up and glanced at the name. _Nathan. _Her heart began to race at the name and she answered it.

"Hello."

"Hey, I just wanted to check on you. Are you okay? You left so quickly. I didn't know my mother was going to be so harsh."

"It's not a big deal. I've heard worse because of my lack of fashion sense."

"You know what I mean. She shouldn't have judged you that way. She barely knows you."

"It's okay. She doesn't know the details of the situation so it's second nature for her to assume that I was the bad guy because I hit Alex first."

"I don't want her to think you are unsophisticated and filthy because you're not. That should be Alex. She's the cause of every bad thing in your life."

She laughed. "Well, it's a mother's job to keep their precious CEO sons away from painters who live a low-class life."

"Haley-"

"Look, Nate. It's fine."

"I wish you didn't have to take it to heart."

"I didn't."

"I would've switched bodies with you when she said those words. It would make that pain inside of you less agonizing because I'd be the one taking the hit of it instead of you."

Haley was silent for a minute, taken back by that comment. Switching bodies would more difficult than it was. Sometimes she wondered if things would be different if she didn't decide to ruin Julian's car at the restaurant. Would things still be this complicated and hard to deal? Would she be suffering alone?

"Haley?" Nathan cut in, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah."

"Don't let my mother or Alex bring you down, okay?"

"Who knew Nathan Scott could be so thoughtful?"

He chuckled. "I've just. . .been through a lot lately. There's not much I could've done about it with a girl like you around."

"You're usually the one who insults me on a day to day basis. It's a little strange."

"Are you complaining about my kindness?"

"No," she smiled. "I like it. It's something to get used to."

"People have to grow up sometimes, right?"

"Right," she answered. Her eyes moved up to observe the canvas in front of her and wondered if she should finish it. Somehow she thought of the painting as Nathan. An undeveloped piece of art in the need for a few improvements and layers to feel complete. If she finished it, would that mean that her work was done and that he had fully grown into the man he wanted to be? Thinking of it in that way, it made her not want to complete it. Then she thought about the previous night and earlier that morning. How he ran out to her and comforted her and then defended her in front of his mom. It was so kind of him to do such good deeds. Again, he has done so much while she did so little. And she had to do what she needed to do in return. "Thank you again."

"No problem," he answered. "We promised that we'd support each other. I was just keeping my promise."

She smiled. "And I will try my best to keep mine."

* * *

Julian glanced at his cell phone, waiting and hoping for a phone call from Haley, but still nothing at all. Not even a text. It had been a couple of days since he brought her the flowers and he expected to hear something from her, but she didn't do anything. Even though he sent them through anonymous, she would've figured it out since he always sent her daisies during the winter. But he shouldn't be so surprised, she wasn't going to accept them or thank him after what he had done to her.

He sighed deeply and sat back in his chair, turned it around and observed the city view below him through his window. He could see every building from his office, every roof top powdered with bits of snow and decorated with twinkling Christmas lights, even Chivalry café which was a few miles away from his building. He hadn't been in there once since he told her the reason why he left her. It was probably one of the stupidest moments of his life. And he couldn't take that back. He wanted to but Haley wasn't going to accept it.

As he continued to gaze at the city before him, he heard his door open and close. He turned around curiously and found Alex walking in with a glum expression on her face.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you."

"We're supposed to be broken up, but we still manage to keep seeing each other. Don't you think that defeats the purpose?"

She rolled her eyes and settled herself in the chair across from his desk. "It's not like we're getting back together any time soon."

"I'm not counting on it, " he mumbled. He noticed the glare on her face and he leaned forward in his seat. "What do you want anyways?"

"I want to talk you about Haley."

"That should be the last thing we should talk about considering everything that's happened."

"You want her back, right?"

"I don't know anymore."

"It's a yes or no question, Julian," Alex demanded, surprising him with her low tone.

"Fine. Yes, I want her back."

"Then I can help you."

Julian let out a chuckle. "Right. The person who broke is up in the first place wants us to get back together?"

"This isn't for you. This is for me. I want to get something before Haley does."

"And what is that?"

"Nathan."

"Nathan?"

"The café owner. They obviously have something going on and I'm going to have him before Haley gets dibs."

Julian furrowed his eyes at her and let out a dry chuckle. He couldn't believe this woman. After what she put Haley through, she was going to try and take something away from her again. Not one inch of his body was going to agree with this no matter how much he wants Haley back. He wanted her to be happy, not miserable.

"I'll pass."

She scoffed. "Excuse me? I thought you wanted to get back together with her?"

"Yeah, but not this way. Maybe those two really have something going on and you're going to stop it? Just like you stopped us from getting married? For getting in between us and ruining Haley's happiness? What kind of person are you?"

Alex stopped and fixed her gaze with him. "I don't know."

"I'm not going to point the finger between us anymore. It's obvious what happened and we can't stop that. But take a second and realize what did Haley deserve to receive such hate and betrayal from us? Why do you want to keep hurting her when she's fragile as it is?"

"Because I don't want her to have everything."

Julian nodded and observed how Alex's head was down. He could tell that deep inside she knew she was guilty. But he couldn't let that bit of sadness forgive her for being selfish and cruel to him and to her own best friend. She needed to change her ways.

"Well, here's a little advice." She looked up. "It's from the bible. _For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one."_

Alex looked at him curiously and he continued to explain it to her. "Your jealousy will not make you a good person in the end. Your digging your own grave if you continue bothering someone else for something you want. Just stop whatever your planning and be patient."

"Is that what you're doing? Being patient?" she questioned harshly. "Waiting on a woman that doesn't even want you back?"

"Honestly, it hurts, but I guess that's my punishment for deceiving her."

"Then why are you even trying?"

"Because I thought I would have a second chance."

"What a stupid man."

"Well you're a stupid girl."

She scoffed. "I'm not stupid."

"Then why can't you bother someone else or steal someone else's man?"

Her jaw tightened. Honestly, it was a hard question for her to answer. It seemed like a pretty hard and sensitive subject for her to talk about. She never thought she'd ever admit to anyone about her real feelings about the situation and Haley. But she found the courage to say it out loud. "Because it's not fair that even though she lost you, she's still able to find someone else willing to care for her. She always finds the perfect guys. They accept her. She has that privilege. I don't understand how that's possible. I'm prettier than her. I'm more outgoing. Why doesn't anybody want me the same way they want her?"

"Maybe that's your punishment," Julian mumbled.

* * *

On the bus ride to the café, Haley was calculating how much money she owed Nathan. She paid him a huge chunk earlier with the ring and the paychecks from her mother and the Paint Shop plus the dates Vivian had offered for that short period of time. She just needed to know how much she's earned so far at the café to see if it fixed her debt yet. Somehow she was nervous to know if she even came close to making up for it.

Writing down in her little notebook, she looked to her side and found a couple flirting with each other in their seat. The girl was wearing a crocheted beanie while the guy was wearing a nice business suit. It was obvious that he was insulting her hat because he was pointing at it. The girl was glaring at him, but the guy just laughed and wrapped his arm around her to apologize.

Haley smiled at the sight. It reminded her of her and Nathan's relationship. Sometimes she wondered how she could have fallen for a guy like him. All he did from the very moment they met was yell at her and make her cry. He was so demanding and never had anything nice to say until recently. Although he's still a stubborn rich kid, he was growing on her and becoming kinder as every day passed. And every time she saw him, she liked him more and more. But after meeting up with his mother that morning, she knew that she wasn't suited for him. She needed someone more of his level so he wouldn't have to disappoint his parents especially his mother.

After she finished calculating the amount, she concluded that she had to work for more than a year to make up for the debt she owed him. Vivian would already be in college by then which meant they had tuition to pay. With that happening, she'd have to stay another year in order to make up for everything. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be quitting any time soon. So leaving Nathan's side was something she couldn't accomplish, even for his mother. Somehow she felt guilty for that, but at the same time, she was relieved. She didn't want to leave him anyways.

She sighed deeply and sat back in her seat, waiting for the bus to make a stop at the café.

**

* * *

**

"So, Nate," Tim began, stepping next to him at the counter. Nathan looked away from counting the money in the register and turned to Tim who was looking at him eagerly.

"What?"

"Christmas is coming up soon, I was wondering if we're going to have a couple of days off?"

"A couple of days off?"

"Yeah. 'Tis the season to be jolly!"

"Do you have plans or something?

"Well . . . Not really. I was just wondering since we've been working hard lately, we should have at least get a couple of days off."

"I agree with Mr. Smith, " Percy stated, walking out from the kitchen, drying his hands in the process.

Nathan scoffed and placed the few dollars he had in his back into the register. "You guys want me to close the café for a couple of days just so you can have a break? We have to raise up the sales in the next couple of months if we want to keep the café running. How are we going to accomplish that if I give you a couple of days off?"

"Don't be a Scrooge, Nate," Clay stated, walking past them. "It's Christmas time. We all have families."

Nathan sighed and observed his employees begging with their eyes. He had already upset his parents the previous night, now his own employees were telling him to close the café for a couple of days?

While staring at everyone blankly, he heard the entrance open, and he found Haley walking in. She was practically covered in snow. So she brushed off the flakes off her shoulders and shook her head to take some of the snow out. Then she glanced up and met with his eyes. He could tell that she was still a bit shaken from the night before and earlier that morning. He was glad that she was able to find the strength to come to work though. She always had the strength.

"So is that a yes or a no?" Tim questioned.

Nathan looked away from Haley and returned to his focus back to the register. "I gave you a day off yesterday."

"That doesn't count."

"You weren't working at the café like Clay and Jake, so that counts."

"Come on, Nathan!" he whined.

"It's just a couple of a days. Christmas Eve is on a Friday. At least give us the weekend off," Percy advised from behind him.

Haley passed by with a tray under her arm and approached a table with a smile. But before she could make it to them, Tim grabbed her and pulled her to his side, making her stumble on her feet.

"Haley, do you think we deserve a couple of days off for Christmas?"

"Huh?" she questioned, stunned from the abrupt pull.

"Nathan here doesn't want to give us a couple of days off for Christmas, " Clay answered. "He thinks it will affect the sales."

She glanced at Nathan and noticed the serious expression on his face. She couldn't decide whether to be on the guys' side or his. Nathan wanted to accomplish his goal, but the guys have been working non stop ever since they started. A few days wasn't going to hurt anyone. They could just make up for it on another day.

"I don't think it's a bad idea."

Nathan's eyes widened. "Haley, we only have a few months to triple the sales."

"Well you can give them a few days off. I'll stay and work."

"What?"

"If tripling the sales is so important to you, I'll stay and work."

"Haley, that's not fair to you," Jake stated, walking up to the counter. "You need a few days off as well. You're busy all day. You go to work at the Paint Shop and then you go straight here to work again."

"I think I've had my share of off days in the past," she smiled, thinking about her days at the hospital.

"That doesn't count. You were sick," Jake argued. Besides, he didn't want her working alone with Nathan.

Nathan could tell that Jake was concerned about Haley. Seeing another man act that way towards her made him feel a bit uneasy and jealous. It was obvious that Jake liked Haley. Everyone in the café knew. They were all just keeping it to themselves to spare him the embarrassment.

"Fine," Nathan agreed.

"So that's a yes?" Tim squealed.

"Yeah. All of you can take off, but Haley stays."

"Does that mean you're still going to be working?" Jake questioned.

Nathan gave him a confident look and nodded. "Yeah. I can't let her work by herself."

Jake furrowed his eyes at his boss and then glanced at Haley who was smiling contently with the decision. He wasn't going to let them work together by themselves over the holidays.

"Then I don't want a few days off," he proposed.

Surprised, Nathan crossed his arms. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. I'll work over the holidays. It's not like I have anything to do."

"But it's Christmas, Jake. You should be with your family," Haley argued.

"You should be too."

"I'm sure they won't mind me working. We need the money anyways."

"If working over the holidays is going to help the café then I'll do it, " he stated, trying to make an excuse to stay.

"Then I guess it's going to be just the three of us," Nathan smiled, feeling like it was going to be an interesting weekend.

"I ask for a couple of days off for Christmas, and you guys are offering to work? I don't understand you people," Tim complained before turning around to continue working as did everyone else.

Nathan eyed Jake as he walked away from the counter. He was a little mad that Jake decided to stay behind as well. But he wasn't going to let that affect him. Work was work.

* * *

After a whole day of serving coffee, Haley finally went home. She dropped her bag on the sofa and flopped next to her sister who was studying for her last final before the holidays.

"What's wrong with you, Miss Melancholy?" she asked, chewing on her bubble gum.

Haley crossed her arms and began thinking about what happened earlier in the café. _Why would Jake suddenly want to work at the café? He's been working non-stop. He needs a break more than I do. It just doesn't make sense._

"Maybe he likes you," Vivian mumbled.

She turned to her sister curiously. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

Vivian rolled her eyes. "You were thinking verbally again. You need to get that checked out or something."

Haley slouched. "You think Jake likes me?"

"It's probably the only reason why he would want to keep working. Why else would he be working over the holidays? I certainly wouldn't do that."

"But that's just your personality, Viv."

"You should ask everyone in the working community in this country. They wouldn't offer to work on Christmas. That's idiotic."

"I offered."

"Exactly."

Haley scoffed and poked her sister roughly on the head. Vivian scowled at her and rubbed her temple where Haley pushed her.

"Who else is working with you anyways?"

"Tim, Clay and Percy took off, so it's just Nathan."

"That's why."

"What do you mean?"

Her sister stopped scanning her literature book and gave Haley the are-you-naïve-or-something look.

"Isn't it obvious? He doesn't want you working alone together with Mr. Hero over the holidays."

"It's not like anything is going to be happen between us at work."

"He's just keeping his eye on him. To make sure he doesn't do anything to you."

Haley laughed. "Nathan cares more about work rather than making a move on me."

"I'm just stating what I see, sister."

"What else do you see?" she questioned curiously.

Vivian flipped the page and started highlighting more of her notes and stopped.

"Let's see. It's obvious that you and Mr. Scott are getting really close. He always shows up and invites you to things. He even takes care of you and brings you home. Percy likes you, but he likes mom more. He keeps asking me about her. It's kind of disgusting!" Haley laughed at her little sister's expression. "Tim and Clay obviously like you as a best friend or younger sister. And there goes Jake. He likes to look at you all the time at work. He tries to control it, but he can't hide it. Which leads me to think he likes you. It's weird that someone like you ,who recently broke up with your fiance, is getting catered by all these guys. "

Haley's eyes widened. "You've seen all that just from studying at the café these past couple of days?"

"Yeah, I'm an awesome observer. Didn't you know that?"

"Well, aren't you impressive?"

"Oh!" Vivian stopped herself before she picked up her highlighter and pulled something out from underneath her textbook. It was an letter that was left on the door knob earlier. She handed it to Haley. "Here."

"What's this?" she questioned.

"It was addressed to you. Someone dropped it off. I was going to open it, but I'm trying to be a good girl and actually follow the rules."

Haley smiled and looked at her sister. It was unbelievable she had improved in such a short time.

"Look at you! You've matured. You're studying and everything!" She squeezed her sister's cheek and poked her in the forehead.

"Oh shut up!" she pushed her hands away. "I'm only doing this so I can pass and graduate. Geez."

"Well I'm glad you're working hard."

"Yeah, yeah," Vivian replied as he continued working on her studying.

Haley observed her and noticed her little sister immediately focus back to her studying. Like she was determined to ace whatever test it was. She was going to tell her about how long it was going to take to pay for the debt they owed Nathan, but she couldn't break Vivian's heart like that. From the sight before her, she knew that her little sister really wanted to graduate and go to college. Hearing that she had to keep working at the Paint Shop to pay another person was definitely going to ruin all her motivation and dreams. So Haley decided to keep it a secret and find a way to make up for the rest of the debt herself. She just didn't know how. Unless she continued to work at the café and the Paint Shop while Vivian went to college. That would work, but it would be really hard to do that and pay for her tuition at the same. But if that's the only way to make her little sister happy, she was willing to do that for her. Besides, working side by side the guys at the café and Mr. Kim wasn't so bad. She made a promise to Nathan anyways and she really wasn't ready to break it so soon.

She left her sister's side and walked into her room, holding the letter in her hand. She shut the door gently behind her and flopped on her bed. Then she ripped the letter open and was surprised to see a long letter hand written on note book paper.

_Dear Haley,_

_I didn't think it was possible to visit you during the holidays or even be appropriate to give you a Christmas gift, so I wrote you a letter instead. I was going to get you a nice gift in order to get you back and make you happy. But recently, I've realize that no matter how hard I try, I'm never going to reach that goal. I'd really like to apologize again for everything I've done to you. All the hurt. The betrayal. Every wound I've caused inside of you. You didn't deserve any of that. I take back every cruel thing I've ever said to you. I had forgotten how fragile you were. I was selfish. I didn't deserve you. But I miss you every single day. I think of you every second, but I guess that's my punishment for letting someone as perfect as you go. It's all my fault. Not yours. I just wanted to tell you that. I don't know when you'll ever forgive me, but I hope you will some day. I hope the wound I created gets buried so you won't have to worry about it again. Maybe that boss of yours can help you heal it for you. He seems like a nice guy. I can tell that him and the guys at the café are taking good care of you. You look a lot happier than before. I'm glad. I just wanted to give you my final bow. I'll always have you in my heart. Maybe someday we will be acquaintances again. I really hope so. Well, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. _

_Love, Julian._

_p.s. Don't let Alex get in the way of your happiness. I know that she's trying to stir up trouble. I wanted you back because I regretted what I did and because you didn't deserve it. It wasn't because Alex didn't want me anymore. I think it's just that she's hurting inside as well. Hopefully she'll calm down and find happiness too. I want everything to be okay again even if we're not in each others' lives._

Haley sighed deeply and folded the letter, holding it against her chest. Was this really the end of her and Julian? He was definitely going to stop bothering her? Somehow she felt kind of empty after reading the letter. And somehow relieved that everything was now being buried into the past. She was relieved to know that she was actually not the girl he said she was early in their break up. He took back every word and regretted ever letting her go. That's what she wanted. She wanted to hear him say that he was completely wrong. That he missed her and allowed himself to let someone like her go. Her goal was accomplished. The only problem was that Alex was still trying to mess things up. She was trying to take another perfect man away from her. This time, she wasn't going to allow that.

**

* * *

**

A couple of days had passed and it was finally Christmas Eve, the last day of Christmas shopping. The malls and outlets were definitely packed with people. Even the Paint Shop was filled with customers wanting to buy pieces of art for their significant others or family members. It was usually during the holidays when the Paint Shop had great sales. Mr. Kim was always cheerful during work time. He loved seeing people marvel over the paintings. He even included some of his own pieces in the mix because people were willing to buy anything.

During lunch, Haley decided to take some out to browse around the mall and enjoy the atmosphere of crazy Christmas shoppers. She had already bought her mother and sister their gifts earlier because she knew how the stores were going to be.

Sipping on her cup of coffee from the local coffee shop in the store, she observed the people around her. There were couples here and there. Parents with their toddlers. She even spotted a dad carrying his little daughter over his shoulders so she could see above everyone else. She smiled at that with the thought of her father in her mind. Then she pushed through every body to exit out into the outside patio in the middle of mall where a lot of people were resting from all the shopping. Surprisingly, coming out from the connecting shopping mall across from her, she saw Nathan's mother struggling with her shopping bags. Despite what happened before, she wanted to help. So she hurried towards her before she tipped over.

"Let me help you," Haley offered, taking a few of the bags.

Deb stopped struggling and looked up at the strange girl. When she noticed how familiar she looked, she realized that it was the girl who was at Nathan's house that morning. She was still upset about her presence at the business party and Nathan's house, but somehow she was receiving a different vibe from her, making her views about her a little different. She glanced at the girl's outfit. It was a plain purple sweater over a grey skirt with knee highs and sneakers. Not exactly what she was expecting the girl to wear. She didn't even look like the type of girl Nathan would find interest in. It was kind of odd.

"Thanks," Deb replied, slowly.

Haley smiled. "Where are you headed? I can help you bring these to your car."

Deb observed her, curious to know who she was and what she was really doing at Nathan's. But she shook away the thoughts and looked towards the sidewalk down the mid section of the mall.

"My driver's waiting over there," she pointed out.

Haley looked over towards the parking lot and found a black shiny vehicle parked at the curb of the sidewalk. There was a man wearing a nice suit and a cap leaning against it. She was blown away at how high class the Scott family really was. A Porsche, a huge marketing company under their name, a driver, vacationing at the Bahamas and Paris, and lastly a woman decked in jewels and expensive clothing. Haley was a commoner compared to all that. No wonder they looked down on her.

"Alright." Haley nodded and adjusted the bags over her arms before making her way to the car. Deb followed slowly. Was she being polite because she wanted to be forgiven? Or was she always this nice?

It was a silent and long walk down the center of the mall. Neither of them knew what to say or think. Deb had her held high like a queen while Haley looked down at her feet. Everyone who passed them stared, wondering what a girl like Haley was doing with a woman decked in jewels. So Deb decided to break the ice.

"Were you Christmas shopping?"

Haley turned to her, surprised that she spoke first. "No. I actually work her."

"You work . . .at the mall?"

"Yes, ma'm. At the _Paint Shop _by the pretzel guy."

"So you're telling me that you have two jobs?"

Haley glanced at Deb for a second, realizing that it seemed a bit embarrassing to admit that she worked both at a café and the mall, but she couldn't lie, so she nodded. "Yes, ma'm."

"Why do you have two jobs?"

She was silent for a moment. It was kind of complicated to explain the whole reason why she was working at the café, so she decided to make it simple.

"I just need them."

Deb nodded, her head still high as they walked. "Is it because you're struggling with money?"

Haley sighed deeply and stayed silent. That wasn't something anybody would want to reveal to a woman of Deb's class. It would be another reason to look down at her. And she didn't want that.

Deb could feel the intensity of the silence and continued. "Is that why you were at my son's house? Because you were struggling with money?"

Haley eye's widened and noticed the serious expression on the woman's face and she reverted back to the moment she found her at Nathan's house in nothing but his clothes. It was obvious that she viewed her as a uncultured and unsophisticated girl, but she couldn't let her continue thinking that. She wasn't like that.

"No, no," Haley answered nervously. "That's not why I was there."

"Then what were you doing there."

"Mrs. Scott, I will admit that I am struggling with money, but please don't think I was at Nathan's house because of that."

"Then please explain."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. She was growing nervous and intimidated by the well-dressed woman. The wealthy were always intimidating.

"I was upset about what I did at the business party, so Nathan decided to bring me home. I didn't want to go back after what I did. But my mom and sister weren't there. I had no key and my phone was dead. Then it started snowing, so he let me stay at his house until I could go home. That was all, Mrs. Scott. He was just giving me a place to stay for the night."

"What about the clothes?"

"I had a dress on. He didn't want me to feel uncomfortable sleeping in it."

Deb started nodding as they continued to walk. Haley tried to look for some kind of sign that she believed her explanation, at least softer gaze, but it looked the same way as it did before.

"So my son took care of you?"

"He _helped_ me," Haley corrected, making sure she didn't take it the wrong way again. "Please don't get upset with him. He was just being kind to someone with bad luck. I'm not a very fortunate girl, but it was fortunate to have Nathan around. He's really helped me out these past few months. He's a hard worker and is really passionate about the café. He told me that he wasn't exactly the best guy growing up. He feels like he's failed you and his father, but he really wants to succeed. He really wants you to be proud of him. He doesn't want to disappoint you. So please don't say he was being irresponsible. He wasn't. I promise. I don't even think Nathan would stoop that low to help a girl with money problems. He's not that kind of guy. And I'm not that kind of girl."

Deb slowly stopped walking and furrowed her eyes at the tone of the girl's voice as she spoke of her son. She could feel the sincerity and protection. Haley wasn't trying to protect herself, she was protecting Nathan. Immediately, she remembered that morning at his house when she asked what kind of relationship they had , and they just gazed at each other, unaware of what they should say, like they didn't know what they were. But it was obvious. Nathan was defending her that morning just like a boyfriend would for his girlfriend. The same with her. She was defending him. Their relationship was far deeper than she had expected.

"Nathan thinks he failed us?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not sure if I was supposed to say that or not, but I just wanted you to know that he's really trying his best."

Hearing that her son felt that way broke her heart a little bit. He hardly showed any kind of vulnerability when he was around them, but that was probably just his cover-up. He wanted to look cool and strong in front of them, so he didn't expose his weakness. She didn't' want Nathan to feel like he was a disappoint to them at all. She was always supportive of him, but based on his activities in the past several years, it was hard to believe that he could really be serious again. But seeing that now his actions have changed, she was going to be even more supportive than before.

As they neared the black vehicle, the driver popped the trunk open and stepped forward to grab the shopping bags from Deb.

"I didn't know that he felt that way. Nathan is definitely not a failure," Deb stated. "I really don't want him to think that we don't care. We're just . . .trying to adjust to his changes."

"I understand. It's hard to seeing people change," Haley replied, thinking of Alex.

The older woman sighed deeply and observed Haley once more, feeling apologetic towards her.

"So you think my son can triple the sales in the next few months?"

"Definitely!" she answered quickly. "I can feel it."

Deb smiled at how the blonde young woman lit up. She wasn't as bad as she thought she was. Hearing that her own son really wants her and Dan to be proud of him made her heart a little warmer. Knowing that he's really working hard and being passionate about something again was such a great gift to be given during the holidays. Who knows? The start of the café might be that reason or it could be the presence of this girl standing before her.

"Are you going to help him succeed?"

Haley smiled again. "I'm not going to leave his side."

Deb took that as a very honest answer and nodded. "I'm sorry about how I reacted to you the other day and calling you low-class. Nathan was right. I shouldn't be judging someone before getting to know them. Now I see why Nathan defended you. You're a really sweet girl."

"It's okay. It was all my fault anyways."

"I forgive you. Some people are born with luck and some were born to find it," Deb stated. "That's just life.

"I guess I was born without it."

"But you found it," Deb corrected. Haley smiled. "I'm depending on you to help Nathan succeed, okay?"

"I won't let him down."

"Okay. Well, thank you for helping me with the bags and talking with me. I appreciate it."

"Anytime, Mrs. Scott," Haley answered, handing her the two bags she was holding.

"It's Haley, right?"

"Yes, ma'm."

"Happy Holidays, Haley."

"You too."

The driver opened the back seat door and she climbed inside. After he shut it, he walked back into the driver seat. Haley started waving at the tinted window and watched as the black car left, leaving her relieved that she was able to clear up the incident with Nathan's mother. Now her motivation to keep her promise was a lot better than before. She couldn't let Nathan nor his mother down anymore. Hopefully she will succeed.

* * *

For the morning shift of the day, Nathan and Jake were busy making and serving everyone at the café. As expected, it was busy. Busier than most of their ordinary days. It was times like these where Nathan needed all of his employees, but unfortunately he gave them all a day off. All of the coffee shops in their neighborhood were closed for the holidays, leaving Chivalry the only one open. And it was packed with a bunch of Christmas shoppers taking a rest or asking for more energy(caffeine) to keep on going.

"Why did you give them Christmas Eve off?" Jake complained, walking behind the counter where Nathan was currently making someone their coffee.

"Hey, I told them that I needed them to work, but they kept telling me it was the holidays."

"You should've just stuck with your instincts."

Nathan furrowed his eyes at him and poured the boiling water into the filter. "Well if Haley was here, we would at least be less stressed out right now."

"She's working at the mall, you should've known that by now. She's probably overwhelmed too."

"Whatever. Just finish making that coffee," Nathan ordered. "There are three old ladies over there waiting to be served."

"Boys! We're in a hurry! We have a lot of shopping to do! Can you go any faster?" an old woman call out from the corner of the café.

Nathan looked up and forced a smile. "We're trying ma'm. Don't worry. You will have enough time to finish your Christmas shopping."

"Sir! Where are all of the other handsome workers?" another middle aged woman questioned. "I thought this was Chivalry café? Where are all the servers?"

"I want to see Clay Evans!"

"They're not here, sorry," Nathan apologized. "They'll be back next week."

"You should've just closed the café, all the other coffee shops in this area were smart unlike some people," Jake mumbled, shaking the filter of coffee beans.

Nathan glared at him. "Do you want to get beat up before Christmas?"

Jake let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. "I don't think Haley would be happy about that."

"Why? She'll get worried that I'm going to hurt her precious Jake?'

Jake nodded and turned to him, his fingers crossed. "Yeah, because we're tight like this."

"Right," Nathan laughed. "You wish."

"You don't believe me?"

"Nope, because Haley and I are closer."

"At least I treat her better. You're a douche to her."

Nathan finally finished making the coffee and place it on the counter. "Caroline, you're order is up!" A woman stepped forward. As she walked away with it, Nathan glanced at Jake. "I may be a douche to her, but she still forgives me."

"I don't see why she does," Jake mumbled, his focus on the coffee.

Nathan lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Are you jealous that we have that kind of relationship?"

Jake ignored the question. He didn't want to answer it or admit it to Nathan. It may seem obvious when it came to liking Haley, but he wasn't going to verbally confess it. He thought it was better through his actions rather than his words.

"You're jealous!" Nathan laughed. "Jagielski's jealous!"

He rolled his eyes and asked, "Do you like Haley that way?"

Nathan was taken back from that question and had to think about it. Right when he was about to answer that question, someone poked him from behind. "HEY!"

They both turned around and found Haley's smiling face leaning over the counter.

"It looks like you two have been busy all morning."

Jake noticed the sudden change of expression on Nathan's face. He wanted to know the answer to his question, but it was obvious that from his silence that he really did like Haley. His face lit up at the sight of her and he strangely became nervous at the question.

He stopped observing his boss's expression and focused his eyes on the petite beauty.

"Now that you're here, it'll be a lot easier."

**

* * *

**

As the hours passed, the café was getting less and less busier. All the shoppers started fading away, making it less tiring through the night. They only had about two or three customers left lingering in the café. After they left, Nathan, Jake, and Haley began picking up the place.

Nathan watched as Haley picked up a tray of coffee cups and plates. It looked like she was going to drop it any minute, so he decided to step away from cleaning the counter to help her, but Jake beat him to it, making him a beat frustrated by his actions.

"Thanks, Jake," she smiled.

"No problem," he answered, walking away towards the kitchen.

As he disappeared, Haley wiped her hands on her apron and glanced at Nathan who was busy wiping off the dirty parts of the counter. It was nice being able to know that she didn't have to be a part from him like she thought she would be. But at the same time, she didn't want to be a burden to him.

"It's smart of you to leave the café open on Christmas Eve, " she complimented as she approached the counter.

Nathan chuckled softly. "Some people thought it wasn't," he stated loudly enough for Jake to hear from the kitchen.

"You think it'll be this busy tomorrow?" she questioned.

"Eh," he shrugged.

"It probably won't be since it's Christmas."

"We'll just have to see. You're working all day tomorrow, right?"

"Yea. Mr. Kim let me have the weekend off like regular bosses are supposed to do for the holidays," she joked.

"I'm doing this for the café, not because I'm a mean guy. I only kept two of you."

She smiled. "Alright, Scrooge."

"Hey!" he snapped. "Hurry up and leave before I decide to fire you."

She scoffed. "You're such a cruel, cruel, man. You know that?"

"It's in my blood."

"If you fire her , I quit," Jake offered, walking out from the kitchen.

Nathan rolled his eyes per usual, not impressed with Jake's attempts at being chivalrous for Haley.

"You've got this man wrapped around your finger, Haley."

"I can't help it, I'm just that admirable," she replied, flipping her hair flirtatiously.

Nathan busted out in laughter from her action, making Haley feel awkward and embarrassed. "That's the first time I've seen something like that."

Jake shook his head in amusement. "It was cute," he stated.

Again, Nathan was getting more and more frustrated with Jake stating all of these little bits of love confessions towards her. And he could see that Haley was enjoying every one of them. Feeling this kind of emotion just by seeing another man compliment Haley made him realize that he was the jealous type. And he really wasn't enjoying it that much.

"Are you guys done cleaning?" he questioned all of a sudden. "Because I'm ready to close up the shop."

"Just about," she answered.

"I'm done," Jake stated.

"Well you guys can leave first. I'll stay and clean up the rest."

Haley noticed the cold expression on his face and observed him curiously. "Are you okay, Nate?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Why should there be anything wrong with me?"

"I just," she began. "I just know you how you are."

Jake listened carefully and watched how the two looked at each other. It was there. From both sides. He wanted to deny it and not believe that it was really developing before his eyes, but he had to accept it. Those two liked each other. They really really liked each other. Besides all the bad times he's seen Nathan disrespect Haley, he wasn't a bad guy.

"Just go. I got this."

"Um. I'll leave first then," Jake stated. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Jake," Haley smiled.

Nathan looked up from the counter. "Thanks for working hard."

"It was for the café," he replied, waving at them before making an exit. Once he disappeared, Haley turned back around to nag Nathan to tell her what was wrong.

"So now tell me what's up."

He sighed deeply and finished cleaning the counter. He didn't say anything and walked around the counter to clean the tables. She followed.

"I know something's up. I see it in your eyes."

"How can you see that when I'm not even looking at you," he mumbled, cleaning the tables and lifting the chairs on top of them, his eyes down.

"Well. . . I can hear it in your voice and the way you're avoiding me right now. Come on, cough it up!" she demanded, poking him in the back. Her pushing him to blurt out what was in his mind wasn't making the situation any better. "Just tell me!" He quickly straightened up, turned around and grabbed her hand, making her stop.

Haley was stunned by the abrupt action and swallowed the lump formed in her throat.

"Fine, I'll tell you what's up," he stated. "Do you like him?"

"Huh?" she responded, confused by the weird question. "Like who?"

"Jake."

"Do I like Jake?"

"Yes."

"You think I like Jake?"

He groaned and released her hands from his grip. "Do you have to respond with a question every time?"

"Sorry, but why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"

"Just answer it."

She furrowed her eyes. "No, I don't like him."

"Then why do you get all giggly when he's around? It sickens me," he replied, turning back around to continue cleaning up the place.

Her eye brows lifted. "Are you jealous?"

He didn't respond. Just thinking about her being Jake or any other man made him feel uneasy and frustrated. He didn't want to feel vulnerable like that. He was trying to hard to hold it in, but the feelings he had for Haley were trying to burst themselves out of him. He just wanted to admit it. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Nathan," she begged.

He sighed deeply and placed the last chair on the table. "I'm about to close the shop now."

"Nathan!"

"Unless you want to close the café yourself," he stated, pulling out the keys from his pocket.

Haley was growing more and more furious with him, so she just gave up and grabbed her coat from the hook on the wall.

"Whatever, don't tell me. I'm just going to go," she stated, walking out. "Happy Holidays!"

Nathan groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He shut the lights off, and quickly locked the café before catching up with her down the street. By the way she was crossing her arms, he knew that she was both mad and cold. So he grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her towards him before she could get away.

"Do you want to know what's been bothering me?"

"Yeah, please. I want to help. I don't like seeing you upset."

He could see the concern in her eyes, making him feel a little warmth in his chest.

"You really want to help me?"

"Yes, Nathan."

He sighed deeply and glanced at her lips. He lifted his hands up and cupped the sides of her face gently. Doing this made Haley surprised by what was happening. _He wasn't going to blow another eyelash off my cheek, was he? _Nathan leaned in closer and closer, making her vision blur at the sight, and a few seconds later, his lips crashed on to hers, making her feel electricity run through her body. Her hands didn't know what to do. She was so stunned by the sudden connection that she her hands were just hanging out beside her. But once the kiss lasted longer, heads titling and what not, she finally made use her of hands by wrapping one around his arm and the other around his head, her fingers weaved into his hair.

No more questions needed to be asked. No more answers needed to be said. Everything suddenly felt right. Those hidden feelings were now exposed, and finally for the first time in a long time, Haley felt healed.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired! :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hi readers! I'm back from the long break. Thank you for being patient with me. I've just been busy and had no time write, but I finally found some time and inspiration to write this chapter. It's another shorty! Blah, but anyways, I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry again that you all had to wait so long for this upset. I will try my best to update quicker. Plus, for those of you who have noticed that I had a new story coming up, it's been undecided. I've been thinking of making this my last NH fanfic for quite a while. But I also have this idea that I want to put to life, but not quite sure how much time I will have to write it, so it's still undecided, to we'll just see how time likes me. **

**Again thank you for all the beautiful and wonderful reviews! Your support is always inspiring! Now enjoy this chapter! :)**

**p.s. How freaking cute with was Baby Mama aka Haley James Scott in the latest episode? SO ADORABLE!**

**p.p.s. There's 3 more chapters left! :(**

**- Annie.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 17.**

They both inched a little closer, deepening the kiss. Soft, but passionate. Loving and warm. Until they needed space to breathe, leading them both to part from each others lips. Haley's eyes opened surprised that she was so near to Nathan's dark blues. Immediately her cheeks grew warm at the handsome sight. _Was this real? Did Nathan really lean in and kiss me? It doesn't seem real. And did I really kiss him back?_

"Haley," he stated, his warm breath brushing against her skin.

She figured he wanted a response, so she began to open her mouth to respond, not really knowing what she was going to say. As she felt the breathe in her throat, ready to say a few affective words, something else came up. A sudden burst of allergies. Something that was the last thing Nathan expected as a response.

"Achoo!" she sneezed, leaving Nathan to close his eyes shut.

Immediately, Haley placed her hands to her mouth, shocked by the reaction, and mentally rolled into a small ball of embarrassment.

"That's not exactly what I was expecting," he mumbled, wiping his face from her sudden sneeze.

Haley laughed to herself and apologized. "I'm sorry. It's cold out here."

With his eyes opening, he said, "Then we should go somewhere warm then."

"I really am sorry."

He sighed deeply and observed her shivering frame in her thin jacket. A few seconds later he began to remove his own coat and placed it around her shoulders. She smiled at the generosity.

"I'll forgive you if that was a good sneeze."

"Huh?"

He just lifted his eyebrows, not really wanting to explain it. It was pretty obvious what he wanted to hear.

"Oh," she replied. She shyly smiled down, glancing at her feet, and nodded. "It was a good one."

Nathan tilted his head a little, trying to find the grin on her face, and felt a sudden jolt in his body at her answer. He smiled at the thought, and accepted her "yes".

"Even though it was a good one, it was still kind of nasty," he stated.

Lifting her head up, she scoffed and quickly hit him on the shoulder. "Rude!"

"Well it was!" He chuckled and quickly reached over to grab her hand, shocking her. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Haley glanced at their intertwined hands. It was as though after all those times they argued and bantered, all those melancholy moments because of Alex and Julian, she finally found that completion that she always wanted. That she always wished for. Her wounded heart was slowly gaining strength again.

From afar, watching them from across the street, Jake felt a sudden ache in his heart. Making it become weak at the sight. He should've expected it. Well. . . he actually expected it, but really wasn't sure he wanted to believe it. It was obvious that Nathan was falling for Haley. The way he acted around her, always mocking her and finding her in random places, and saving her from danger, really showed his true feelings for her. And he kind of knew that Haley was finding some kind of admiration for their café boss, but Jake didn't want to believe it. He thought that maybe if he was kinder to her, made her feel good, and happy, she'd change her thoughts of Nathan and start to like him. But from what he saw across the street, her feelings were only stronger for him. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to go back to work tomorrow. Or if it was even worth returning at all.

**

* * *

**

A couple of days passed, making everyone return to their regular schedules. Except this time, the atmosphere seemed different than before. On Christmas day, the day after Nathan and Haley's kiss, Jake never went to work. He didn't even call in or answer any of their phone calls when they tried to contact him. The café wasn't really busy at all, so they closed early. But the fact that Jake didn't even come in or explain his absence worried them. It actually just worried Haley. Nathan cared less for him. Maybe because Jake was trying to get Haley for himself, and he wasn't really fond of that. But they just expected that he was too busy spending time with his family for the holidays and couldn't reach them. Like something probably came up that prevented him from calling them, so they stopped worrying about it until they had to return to work.

Tim was setting up new packets on the shelf when he began looking around the café, searching for a certain someone. The feeling felt a little empty. Glancing over his shoulder, he found Nathan checking something off from his clipboard.

"Nate, where is Jagielski?"

He took a few seconds to count the large bags of coffee beans in the corner of the room before answering. His eyes still fixed on his clipboard, he said, "I don't know. The kid hasn't even called in."

"Did you do something to him?"

"No, why?"

"I'm just wondering. You two don't really talk, so I expected that since you guys worked together over the holidays, you would've clashed and . ."

"He didn't even show half the time during the break," he cut in.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, he probably quit and didn't tell me."

"He can't quit!" Tim snapped.

Nathan looked up and stepped back. "Well he hasn't been showing up."

"We need him. He's good at keeping this place organized and he serves well. He's some of the customers' favorite waiter. We need him if we want to keep the café."

"Haley and I tried calling him but he refused to answer."

"You must've done something to make him do that."

"Like what?"

Tim shrugged. "I don't know. You tell me."

Nathan looked away from Tim, ignoring what he said and walked inside the kitchen. He began doing inventory in there, counting all the items and materials inside, until he started zoning off to what he did to make Jake disappear all of a sudden. Of course, he had no dislike, hatred or grudge against the guy except for that fact that he liked Haley. But he'd never intentionally cause him harm. He's not that cruel of a person. So he began to think further, back to the holidays. Then he realized that it should've been obvious from the start. The kiss. He must've found out about it. It didn't matter how or when he found it, he knew about it. And he really needed to talk to him about it to make sure the guy was okay.

**

* * *

**

Haley was showing off a piece of work to a customer when she noticed a familiar figure walking passed the Paint Shop. Her eyes furrowed at the sight when she realized that he looked a lot like Jake. And she began to wonder why he was at the mall instead of the café.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back, " she smiled and stepped away from her customer to catch up with Jake.

Right as she walked out of the store, her eyes went immediately towards his back which was slowly fading into the crowded mall. Quickly, she jogged after him, making sure he didn't run away.

"Jake," she called out.

He didn't listen. So she continued walking faster, passing everyone by, excusing herself every time she pushed through. Again, she called out his name. Still no response. Once she finally reached him, she grabbed his hand and pulled it towards her.

He turned around at the touch and glanced down at her curiously. He slowly removed the ear phones from his ears and hung them around his shoulders.

"Why are you making me chase you?" she questioned.

"Sorry. I had my head phones on," he pointed.

She glanced at them, surprised by the sight. "I thought you were ignoring me on purpose."

Jake quickly looked away as she said that. Honestly, he did hear her. The ear phones were just an excuse.

"I wouldn't do that, " he lied.

"Why are you here and not at the café?"

"Oh um. . . I had some errands to run."

"Did Nathan send you here?"

The sound of his name made him angry. Angry that Nathan was able to make Haley fall for him. It wasn't fair. At least not to Jake. "No," he answered. "I came here on my own."

"Oh," she nodded. "Well. . . I've been wondering this lately. . I wanted to ask you why you didn't show up to work the next day? And why you're not answering any of my texts or calls?"

Jake licked his lips and cleared his throat. He was getting nervous and uneasy about this topic. This was what he didn't want to do or confront her with. It was the reason why he didn't show up at work at all. Showing off his depressive state wasn't exactly what he wanted her to see. But avoiding her by all means had the same affect.

"I was just busy."

"Too busy to call in and say you're not going to work?"

"Um. . . I really have to finish doing my errands."

"Jake, please talk to me. Did I do anything that's causing you to be this way?"

He shook his head and forced a smile. "No."

"Are you sure?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm sure."

"Was it Nathan? Did he do anything?"

"Something just came up that I needed to take care of."

It wasn't a no, but it still wasn't a yes. Haley thought that it must've been something that Nathan did. Something that she didn't know about and Nathan was just keeping it a secret from her.

"Will I see you at work later today then? We have a lot of stuff to do for the café, you know."

He nodded, not really giving her an answer, and hiked his thumb over his shoulder. "I better get going."

She noticed the sudden change of subject and took that as his way of exiting out of their conversation. So she decided not to force anything on him. He seemed sensitive right now and that concerned her. Jake was such a sweet guy and all she wanted to was to make him feel comfortable and happy. But it was impossible if he kept bottling everything up.

"Okay, text me or something," she suggested.

"Okay," he answered.

He smiled and placed his head phones back on and turned around, walking away back into the crowded mall. Leaving Haley standing there, watching him, and full of worry.

**

* * *

**

Nathan walked back inside the café - after taking a small break- holding something in a little bag. He was smiling cheesily as he placed it on the counter. Percy looked up from making coffee and observed the label on the bag. _MO's Bakery. _

"Did you buy me a snack?" he questioned.

Nathan gave him a look and rolled his eyes. "I think sweets should be the last thing you should be thinking of."

"I'm old, if I die fat, I'll die fat. At least I'll be happy."

"Hey! Don't talk about death, old man!" Tim complained from across the room.

"I think Tim has finally found a liking with you, Percy, " Clay stated, walking up beside Nathan with a tray under his arm.

"Should I be afraid?"

"Tim's just strange like that. He hates you one time then likes you the next," Clay explained and glanced at the bag in front of Nathan. "Who's that for?"

"Haley," he answered.

"Just her?"

"Maybe."

Clay analyzed the look on Nathan's face as he thought of her and he knew that something happened. Oddly, Nathan was glowing. He's never seen him so happy before.

"Are you two-"

"What?"

"Are you guys together?" he asked in a whispery tone. He wanted to make it low-key so that no one could hear, but it didn't work out. Percy was listening carefully per usual.

"Look, if you want to keep your job, you should stop poking your nose in my business and serve those lovely ladies who are patiently waiting for you over there," Nathan replied, pointing at all the middle aged women at the corner of the café, whom were waving at them lightly with their fingers. It was clear that Nathan wasn't ready to reveal what happened between him and Haley to the guys yet. She needed to be there with him.

Clay glanced over his shoulder to spot them and sighed deeply. Turning back to Nathan, he glared at him, upset that Nathan didn't answer him. But it was obvious.

"I'll just have to wait until Haley comes in," he answered.

"Alright. You go do that."

Once Clay walked away, Percy turned to Nathan. "So you two _are_ together."

Nathan walked around the counter and placed the bag on the shelf underneath it.

"It's about time," Percy added.

"Huh?"

"I've been watching you two for the past several months, it's been frustrating you know that?"

Nathan chuckled and crossed his arms. "Sorry? I didn't think we were that annoying."

"No, just you. Now that you two are together, I want to see you treat her better."

"Well as you can see, I'm trying, " he answered, pointing to the bag.

"Whatever is in there, tell her to share it with me."

"I doubt there'll be any left for you."

Right after he said that, the door opened, revealing a beautiful Haley. She removed her crocheted hat, placed it on the hook and then grabbed her apron and wrapped it around her waist. Seeing her face made Nathan feel a sudden warmth in his chest. Realizing that she knew his feelings and he knew hers, made everything a whole lot easier to handle.

As he was about to reach back under the counter to grab the bag, Haley marched up to him with fury on her face.

"What the hell did you do to Jake?" she questioned.

He slowly put the bag down and looked at her curiously. "What?"

"I talked to him today at the mall and it seemed like you did something to him. What did you do?"

"I didn't do _anything_," he snapped.

"Right," she replied, unimpressed.

"Haley, seriously?"

Clay glanced over his shoulder, wondering what was going on. For some reason, he found it hilarious at how Nathan was full of glee earlier because of Haley and now frustrated because of her too.

"Just because we-," she looked around her, making sure no one was listening or watching, and quietly mouthed the next word, _"kissed _doesn't mean I'll easily believe you_."_

He scoffed and decided to show her the bag a little later than before and removed his grip from it. Seeing her frustrated like this and blaming him for Jake's absence brought down his mood. So giving her a gift was the last thing he wanted to do at that moment.

"It wasn't me, okay? Maybe it was you."

She guffawed. "Jake told me it wasn't because of me."

"Maybe he's lying to you."

"Maybe you're lying to me because you like making me mad."

He glared at her and thought that she did look cute when she was angry at him. "You think I do that on purpose?"

"If you _are _doing it on purpose, it's not fun!"

"In that case, I'll keep making you mad."

She scoffed. "Whatever you did, just apologize to him, please," she begged.

Nathan couldn't apologize for kissing Haley. That would only mean that it was a mistake. It wasn't a mistake. At least not for him. He wanted to do it. He had to do it. He didn't want to wait another day feeling jealous and bottling up his feelings or else he would've gone crazy or regretted never telling her. He was glad that he stepped forward and kissed her that night. It helped him ease whatever frustration he was going through. It's what gave him time to breathe. He wasn't going to apologize for that because some guy was hurt by it. Kissing Haley wasn't something he wanted to feel guilty about.

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because . . . What I did wasn't a mistake."

"It obviously was. It hurt him. Take it back so that Jake can come back here."

Hearing her say those words killed him a little bit. She apparently didn't know the reason, but it still pained him.

Nathan ignored her, not sure how respond with everyone around, and decided to just walk away. Haley watched him leave, wondering what the big deal was and glanced at Percy who looked awfully confused.

"It's funny how people go from happy to sad in a flash," he mumbled.

**

* * *

**

After a couple of hours of working non stop at the café, Haley approached Nathan in the kitchen to talk to him. It seemed like -after their brief argument earlier- he became upset and started avoiding her. Which made her think that maybe he didn't do anything at all. Just the expression on Jake's face when she mentioned Nathan's name, she figured it was because of him. But to see Nathan react this way because she didn't believe him made her feel guilty for blaming him. She wasn't quite sure who to believe. She liked both guys. She couldn't choose one or the other. But she pointed her finger at Nathan because he was the aggressive one.

"Hey," she greeted him, placing one a stack of plates into the sink.

He was scrubbing one of the cups down and glanced at her for a brief second. "Hey," he answered.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure."

"I just. . . I just want to know what you did or what you didn't do to Jake?"

He sighed deeply and washed the cup off with water before placing it on the dry rack. He then reached over for the next dish and started soaping it.

"Does it even need to be discussed? I told you my answer."

"I'm just curious."

"You're concerned about him, aren't you?"

She figured he'd go down that route. "Nathan, it's not because I like him like that. You already know how I feel."

"If that's the case, then why are you being like this?"

"Because Jake is my friend. He's been so kind to me this whole time, of course I'm going to care about him. So don't be jealous."

"Haley, just because I'm jealous doesn't mean I'm going to push everyone harshly for my own selfish benefits. You should know me better than that. "

"I know, I just. . . He seemed so upset. And he keeps avoiding the café and -"

"Maybe it's not me, and maybe it's not you, but because of both of us," Nathan cut in, turning his full attention to her.

"Huh? Both of us?"

"Remember when we kissed on Christmas Eve?"

"Yeah, how could I forget?"

"Maybe he saw us, maybe he got hurt because of that."

"He couldn't have. He left before us."

"Well maybe he came back or was half way down the street and just happened to notice that we were kissing."

Haley furrowed her eyes and tried to think of that night. Remembering what was happening in her surroundings in that moment was so difficult. Nothing seemed to be important at that moment because she was in a complete daze. All that she could remember was Nathan, how her heart beat was racing, and the kiss. Knowing whether someone was there to watch them was beyond her belief. The only person that would know the answer to her questions would be Jake. And he's not even opening up to her at all.

"I don't understand."

"Haley, I don't want to be the guy to reveal another guys' secrets, but you need to talk to him again."

"I tried earlier."

"Well, he's probably afraid to tell you. Just try again."

She sighed deeply as if she was exhausted of trying. She's had her share of trying for the past several months already. Now that she finally found her peace with Nathan, more drama was waiting for her.

"I'll talk to him later after work," she gave him a small smile and turned around to return to the main room. Once she passed through the doors, she bumped into Clay outside of it. Oddly, he was giving her the strangest, mischievous look possible. It kind of made her feel uncomfortable like the first day she met him.

"What?"

"What were you two doing in there?" he grinned.

"Huh?"

"Exchanging anything?"

She furrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing. You just seem a little . . . Different today."

"Maybe it's because we haven't seen each other in a while."

"May-be, " he answered slowly, now giving her a curious look as if he was trying to find a clue in her face. "Or maybe because something happened to you!"

"Okay. I think I'm going to go back to work now."

"Aha! Avoiding the subject!"

"I don't even know what subject we're talking about here," Haley answered, obviously aware that Clay knew something. But she did find it amusing to see him playing detective. "I need to go serve some coffee. You should drink some, maybe it will help you make more sense."

**

* * *

**

Dan was looking through some documents in his home office when Deb walked through the door, dressed in her usual attire - skirt, pearls, lipstick, perfume. He glanced up, happy to see the beauty of his wife walking through the door.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Are you working hard?"

"Yeah, I have billion things to do. It's hard being a CEO."

"It must be tough," she answered, walking around his desk to sit on his lap. "You know, there's two and half more months before Nathan brings in his sales documents."

"I know. I have a countdown on my calendar."

"You think he can triple it?"

"I don't know. With the way he's handling everything, I'm not quite sure he can."

After talking to Haley the other day the mall and listening to her talk about how Nathan only wanted them to be proud of him made her realize that she needed to stop watching and help her son out more.

"Maybe if we give him more encouragement than criticism, he'll make it," she stated.

"I've been giving encouragement."

"Forcing him to do things and mocking him for his past isn't exactly what I call encouragement."

"Weren't you the one who wanted him to stop working at the café and just get hired at the company building instead?"

She reached over to grab the picture of Nathan at his middle school graduation and sighed.

"Yeah, but after talking to one of his employees, she told me that he really liked it at the café and is trying his best to keep it. If that's what he wants, I will support him."

"He wants to keep it?"

"That's what I heard."

"Hmm," was all that managed to come out of Dan's mouth as he thumbed through his documents.

Deb observed her husband's sudden change of focus and placed a soft touch on his hand.

"What are you thinking?"

"Just thinking that my son has gotten more serious about this than I had expected."

**

* * *

**

Nathan and Haley kept their developing relationship a secret for the whole day at work, but Nathan's little gift from the bakery was still lingering under the counter which kept the guys wondering what the hell was the occasion was for and why he bought it. Especially Percy who had been drooling over what kind of sweet treat was inside.

Haley was busy cleaning up one of the tables in the far corner of the café near the windows and Nathan was busy doing something paper work in his office upstairs. Leaving just the three guys near the counter, aware of the hidden treat on the lower shelf.

Tim walked around the counter, tiptoeing around the area and grabbed the bag. He opened it to peek inside, curious of what it was and found that it was something small. Something that wasn't even enough to fill Percy's appetite or satisfy it at least.

"Only one?" he questioned. He reached his hand inside and wiped his finger over the top for a taste.

"One what?" Haley asked, walking up to the counter with her rag and Windex.

Startling him, he pushed the bag and stood up straight. "Nothing."

"What were you looking at inside of there?"

"Nothing. I was just . . . Uh counting inventory."

"And there's only one? Then we must order some more."

"I think we should ask Nathan first."

"I agree," she nodded. "So what is it that we only have one of?"

"Uh. . .," Tim began, trying to think of a quick save. "A can."

"A can? A can of what?"

"Of . . . Beans?"

She lifted an eyebrow at his answer. "Why does it sound like you don't what you're talking about?"

"I. don't. know?"

Haley rolled her eyes at how dim Tim could be and decided to look at this "can of beans" he spoke of. So she left her materials on the counter and walked around to see it. Once she made it there, she noticed the bag from MO's bakery on the middle shelf.

"I don't see a can, just a bag from the bakery down the street," she stated.

"Oh, that. . . I think I was-"

"Who is it for?" She reached over for it and peeked inside, finding a cupcake with the icing messed up. For some reason, she couldn't help but smile.

"Tim!" Nathan called out from the stairs.

"I didn't do anything!" he cried out, his hands up like he surrendering.

Nathan climbed down the stairs and gave him a look of death and glanced over at Haley who was holding the bag in her hand.

"Is this for me?" she questioned

"Yeah," he answered. "I was supposed to give it to you earlier but you accused me of something and then I was going to give it to you later, but apparently _someone ruined it_," he explained, scowling at Tim.

"I didn't know it was for her! Geez, don't point any fingers at me!"

Haley began to smile at the banter between the two best friends and pulled the cupcake out.

"So something did happen between you two! I was right!" Clay pointed out with a grin.

"Thank you," Haley replied, glancing at Nathan with delight.

Nathan's frustration over Tim suddenly dispersed into a soft expression once he turned to Haley and accepted her thanks.

"AWWWWW!" The guys sang together as they noticed the loving glances exchanged between the two newly developed lovers.

"Although I had my eyes on her first, you can have her Nate," Clay called out, stepping next to him to give him a pat on the back.

"First?" Nathan laughed.

"Actually it was Nathan, I was there. It was the day she bashed his car," Tim stated.

The thought of Nathan's precious Porschia made him wince. "I told you not to talk about that."

"Sorry. I forgot it was a sensitive subject."

"So what's the occasion for the cupcake?" Percy questioned, glancing at the cupcake now in Haley's hand.

"It's for her birthday," Nathan answered, peeling Clay's hand off his shoulder.

"What!" Tim snapped. "It's your birthday, Haley? How come you didn't tell us?"

"It's not my birthday, it's at the end of January," Haley answered, smiling at Tim's reaction.

"Then Nate's dumb. He doesn't even know his own girlfriend's birthday," Tim replied, relieved that it wasn't really her birthday because then he would be able to prepare for a real present for her. "What a shame."

Both of them were surprised by the term "girlfriend", but Nathan ignored it and threatened Tim once again with his eyes.

"I didn't forget."

"He's just reminding me of someone I've been missing," Haley corrected, happiness filling her body at the thought.

"Awwwww! Nathan's acting like a big sensitive Teddy Bear!" Clay mocked, poking Nathan like a little baby.

"Stop it," Nathan ordered, waving his best friend to stop picking o him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of cupcake is that?" Percy questioned beside Haley.

"Oh you want some? I'll give you a piece," Haley offered, tearing a piece off and handed it to him.

"You're like a vaccuum cleaner, you know that?" Tim asked.

From outside, Jake could tell that everyone was happy for Nathan and Haley. He heard everything from the moment Clay figured out something happened between them. None of them looked hurt at all, only he was. But he figured that it was because he was the only one who harbored deeper feelings for her.

He was inches from entering the café, but decided not to. They looked like they were about to close anyways. He didn't the see point of walking in and then leaving again. He wasn't going to work. And just seeing Haley made him nervous and more depressed than he already was.

So he stepped down from the steps and turned around.

"Hey wasn't that Jake?" Tim questioned, looking out the window.

Nathan quickly looked over his shoulder to see. He only saw the last bit of his hoodie before disappearing from the window. Earlier he told Haley to speak to him, but since he initiated the kiss first, he wanted to be the first one to apologize, especially since Haley already told him to. So he decided to run after the guy and make him less tense about the situation.

"I'll be right back," Nathan stated.

"Wait, I'll come with you," Haley offered.

"No, let me talk to him."

"Okay."

So Nathan walked out of the café, leaving Haley with the guys as they questioned her about what they did during the holidays.

Nathan chased Jake down the sidewalk and called out his name. Once he did, the guy turned around and sighed deeply at the sight of his boss. Cold air could be seen from his mouth as he breathed out.

"Are you sick?

"No, sir."

"Then why haven't you called in or came to work?"

"I had other things to do."

"Well, work should've been one of them."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, looking down at his feet.

"No," Nathan stated. "I should be the one apologizing."

"Huh?"

"Did you see us that night at the café?" he questioned, trying to make him understand what he was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Jake replied, even though he was completely aware of what was being brought up.

"You know. The kiss."

"Oh," Jake replied, sounding very displeased. "That. Yeah, I saw it."

"Look, it's obvious that you like Haley. If that kiss made you uneasy, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me? It's not like I have any claim over her."

"But I know that you didn't want me with her."

"So what? It's not a big deal. You got her before me. And she likes you, so there's nothing I can do about it."

Nathan sighed deeply as he noticed how Jake looked like he lost his soul, his motivation to live, his ability to breathe. He was beginning to look like the male version of Haley in the beginning. Seeing someone taking the person you love away isn't exactly a pleasant view. He didn't want him to get hurt. Jake was a nice guy.

"So you're okay with us being together?"

Jake chuckled dryly. "No, I'm not okay about it. But I'm going to try to accept it. I've been doing it for years."

"Years?"

"Yeah. I've liked her since high school. She was the only girl I liked. I lost my chance with her then because I was too afraid to make a move. But seeing her again at the café and being able to talk to her unlike before, I felt more confident. I thought that since I was around her more often and developed a stronger relationship with her, I'd have a chance. But that wasn't good enough."

"Jake," someone called out from behind Nathan.

Both of their heads lifted up at the sound of the female voice and found Haley standing there in the cold, her eyes so sincere and concerned.

"You are good enough," she explained, stepping forward to speak to him. "You are the nicest and the most generous boy I've ever met. No one has even been so sweet to me like you have been. If I had the choice and control of my feelings, I would've definitely picked you."

"Hey!" Nathan snapped.

"Not right now," Haley replied, raising her hand at him and returned her focus back at Jake. "As I was saying, any girl would be lucky to have you as their boyfriend. I didn't know you liked me back then, but I understand your shyness. I was shy too. I mean, I wasn't exactly the loveliest girl on the physical side so I didn't expect anyone to like me at all. But I'm glad to know that _you_ did. Hearing you admit that really touched me dearly. Even though we barely spoke in high school, we're a lot closer now. You have more confidence than before. And I really don't' want to lose you. I really don't want to lose you as my friend. So I apologize for not falling for you, instead I fell for this jerk," she mocked, poking Nathan in the shoulder.

"That I don't understand."

She chuckled. "Me either. I couldn't control it. But. . . Please accept it for me. Please be happy. I will find you someone. Someone better than me and so much better for you. I promise."

"I don't know if I could like anyone else."

"You better," Nathan mumbled lowly only for him to hear.

"You can and you will," she stated. "I understand the pain, it might take a while to get over, trust me I know. But, in this case, I'm still by your side. So please come back and stop avoiding me. I really miss you."

Jake glanced at Nathan and then fixed his eyes on Haley who was innocently trying her best to comfort him, to heal him. He couldn't say no to this girl. He cared too much for her. And at the same time, he hurt because of her. It was going to be difficult to handle with them being together, but he had to accept it. After all, he couldn't force someone to like him back. If it was meant to be, it was mean to be. He had his second chance, and it didn't work out as planned. So it made him realize that nothing was going to be happen any further than friendship with Haley.

"As long as you don't act all cheesy and cute in front of me at work," Jake stated.

A huge smile formed on her lips and she strode forward to embrace him tightly in a hug. "Thank You!"

"Anything for you," he answered, accepting her embrace.

Nathan would've felt uneasy at this moment, seeing his girl with the guy who liked her, but since Jake was someone Haley really cherished and he kindly accepted their relationship, Nathan was fine with it. It didn't surprise how much Haley became lovelier and lovelier as each day passed by. Her want and hope to keep her friendships was so admiring and envious. It's no wonder why Jake fell for such a girl like her.

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep Me Inspired!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Yay, I'm back with another update! Thank you all once again for the wonderful reviews and kind words! I tried my best to write the next chapter as fast as I could. I didn't want to make you all wait another month. With my busy schedule, it's been hectic to write anything these days. But I did it! I really hope you like this chapter! I'm not sure how much I like it, but I'd like to hear what you think. Just two more chapters left! :( Which means this story will be coming to a close soon. Sad, huh? I know, but some things have to end somehow. Anyways, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I wish I could write individual replies but I just don't have time. Next time I will! Enjoy!

Love you all!

Annie

* * *

**Chapter 18.**

"It's almost two months now," said Mr. Percy as he signed the paper the delivery man gave him.

"I know, the day is almost here," Nathan replied, picking up the new bag of coffee beans the man placed beside his foot.

Nearly a month had past, making it about two months since Nathan's father told him to triple the sales in only three. Ever since then, the café staff had been working 100 times harder to get up to that number Dan wanted. They weren't up there yet, but they were going to reach it. They had a little over a month left, so it was possible that the sales could rise in time.

"That means we have to work even harder than this past month. We're a little below on the numbers right now, so I want make sure we make it by the due date."

"You think we can do it?"

"Yeah, don't you?" Nathan carried the bag of coffee beans over his shoulder and walked inside the café. Percy following right behind him.

"I believe whatever happens, happens."

Nathan rolled his eyes. He didn't like that answer. Sometimes listening to Percy's words of wisdom made Nathan annoyed because there was never a real answer in his responses. _Whatever happens, happens? I asked if you think we can do it. That doesn't give me any enlightenment on the situation. _

"Seriously, Percy. Do you believe that we can triple the sales by the end of next month?"

It took a while for the old man to answer. First he reached his counter, the place he became completely comfortable with for the past several months, and opened the coffee filter. Then he started messing around with a few more items on the counter, stalling to answer the question. Seeing him do all these things made Nathan a little anxious.

"I believe we can do it," he finally stated. "With my way of making coffee, I'm sure we'll quadruple the sales."

A corner of Nathan's lips curled up, showing off a satisfied smile. _Now that's the answer I wasn't looking for_, he thought.

"Your coffee _aint _that good," Tim commented, passing by with a plunger in his hand.

"You think you can make it any better?" Percy replied, lifting an eyebrow at the younger man.

"If you give me the chance to actually make coffee, I could."

Nathan took a moment to think when was the last time Tim was allowed behind the counter. He knew that Haley's been behind the counter, maybe even Clay and Jake, but he could not recall Tim being behind it at all. The last time was probably during their training week and that was so long ago.

"I think he has a point," Nathan stated.

Shocked, Percy gave his co-manager a look. "What?"

"Let Tim get behind the counter. I want to see what he's got."

"Are you kidding me!"

"YES!" Tim called out, his arms up along with the plunger that was now up in the air.

"Who knows, maybe he could make amazing coffee and help us triple the sales."

"You're talking about Tim here, son," Percy grimaced. "_Tim_."

"Let's just give him a chance."

Percy moved his eyes away from Nathan and towards Tim who was anxiously grinning at the proposal his best friend was making. Tim wasn't exactly the most hard working one of the bunch, nor was he the most polite one either. At least not to him. Calling him old grouch, geezer, fatty, old man. The list goes on. But oddly, he liked the kid. He had a personality that he thought was quite amusing. Like he was his own child.

He thought it was funny how Nathan found himself liking Haley who wasn't exactly his type. She was always causing trouble for him. And now he was finding himself liking a trouble maker like Tim. But not in the romantic way. Obviously. More like a fatherly way. Tim needed a chance to shine, so maybe if he got the opportunity, he'd surprise everyone.

Percy sighed deeply, afraid to see what would happen after giving his answer and nodded.

"I guess we can let him have a try."

"YES!"

"Just don't make the coffee with that plunger," Nathan ordered.

"Oh, yeah, about that. I think the bathroom's clogged."

Nathan's eyes widened. "Tim? Did you pull out a big one again?"

Tim looked around suspiciously. "No?"

"Great, just great!" Nathan complained. "Go call the plumber."

"You'll still let me make coffee, right?"

Nathan huffed out a breath. "After we get the toilet fixed."

"Yes!"

Percy shook his head in shame. "Disgusting."

Tim glared at the old, pudgy man. "It's not like you haven't clogged up anything before."

Turning to Nathan, Percy pointed at the kid. "And we're letting him work behind the counter and mess with coffee that we serve people?"

Nathan chuckled and shook his head before turning the other way.

**

* * *

**

"How the painting go?" Mr. Kim questioned, appearing from the back room.

Haley was counting the cash in the register and looked over her shoulder to answer. "Oh, it's almost done. I think it needs another layer of colors though."

"When can I see?"

"You'll see it when I'm finished," she answered with a smile. She counted the last of the dollars and placed it back into the register, shutting it after.

"It looks good so far, Haley. Put in gallery soon."

She laughed shyly. "I don't know. I don't think it's good enough to be put in a gallery of it's own."

"Who knows. Maybe if you put in gallery, you can stop working at café and pay your sista tuition."

"I don't think someone would bid on that much money for my painting, Mr. Kim."

"You never know until you try," Mr. Kim stated, shrugging his shoulders sheepishly. "Just take my advice. I always right."

She smiled at him and sighed deeply. "We'll see."

She stepped back and grabbed her purse to get ready for her lunch break. A few seconds later, she heard something vibrate on the counter. To her knowledge, it was her phone. So she grabbed it and noticed that Nathan was calling. A smile immediately formed on her lips and answered it.

"Hello," she greeted.

"What are you doing right now?"

She adjusted the strap over her shoulders and started walking around the counter. "I'm about to get something to eat. I'm on my lunch break right now. I thought you already knew that?"

It had been about a month since Nathan and Haley started dating. It was still pretty fresh, them being awkwardly intimate with each other, both at the café and outside of it. But they were still the same bickering people from the beginning.

"I did, that's why I'm waiting for you."

Haley furrowed her eyes and craned her neck to look over the sculptures that were blocking her view of the entrance. "Where?"

"Just look straight out of your store," he directed.

Haley stepped to the side, and found someone sitting on a bench right in front of the store. People were bustling on by, but there he was, holding his phone against his ear, looking quite handsome, she added.

She hung up the phone, told Mr. Kim she was going on her lunch break, and walked towards the entrance to meet up with Nathan.

Standing up from the bench, he observed her outfit. Still the same Haley, always wearing the wildest outfits, but lately she's been doing a good job at wearing less embarrassing clothing. With the help of her sister and Nathan's motivational jokes about her high stockings, she was able to open her eyes to a new wardrobe. She didn't have a full transformation, she still wanted to be able to show off her personality through her clothes. She only made a little difference. And Nathan was glad. He didn't want Haley to change for him just because they were dating. He liked her just the way she was. Seriously, the guy fell for the girl even though she wore that hideous farm outfit several months ago.

"What?" she questioned.

"Showing off a little skin, aren't you?" he replied, glancing at her knee length skirt and silver flats.

She looked down and smoothed down the wrinkles she spotted. "I like it. Don't you?"

"Yeah, but all the guys are going to see your legs."

She smiled. "Cause they're sexy, huh?"

He chuckled. "No, because they're a little hairy." Surprisingly, he bent down to touch them for proof.

"Hey!" she cried out, stepping back to keep him away from feeling her so-called hairy legs.

But he managed to feel them anyways. He smoothed his fingers over her calf and he nodded. "Yup, they're prickly."

She scoffed and slapped him on the shoulder as he straightened up. "Well excuse me, Tarzan. You're legs aren't that attractive either. Can I say Gorilla?"

"I'm a guy, what do you expect from me? I don't use Nair or wax my legs."

Her jaw tightened and shyly looked around her to see if anybody was listening to their conversation.

She responded lowly. "Just don't tell the whole mall about my legs."

He chuckled lightly and leaned a bit closer to her, their faces merely inches from each other.

"I promise I won't," he whispered with a grin.

Haley could feel the heat of his breath on her skin. A slight warmth developed in her cheeks as she observed the dark blue orbs before her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and managed to erase the uneasy expression on her face. She figured her innocence was showing so she put on a mischievous expression and said, "You better."

He leaned back and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Try not to wear skirts too often. I don't want other guys looking at them."

"Over protective much?"

"Hey, it's not easy having a girlfriend that looks like you."

"So you think I'm hott?"

"No," he answered.

She moped as they started walking together down the mall. He noticed her face and smiled. He thought it was cute how she always got sad when Nathan joked around with her. Even though she knew he was joking, he liked that he was able to see this side of her. Now that they knew each others feelings, they didn't have to hide behind the jokes.

"You're beautiful," he corrected.

Suddenly everything seemed brighter. She looked up at him shyly, receiving a handsome glance back. She scrunched her nose at him and lightly squeezed the hand that was over her shoulder.

"Cupcakes?" she questioned.

"You just spoiled the surprise," he groaned.

"Of course I was expecting it. You've been giving me a cupcake every single day this past month."

"Are you tired of it?"

"NO!" she snapped. "Of course not. It's really sweet of you to do it for me. You're giving me a little reminder of my dad every day and I like that you're doing that for me."

"Julian's never done that for you?"

Haley shook her head. "No. I've mentioned it to him once, but he never considered continuing the tradition. That's what makes you better than him," she pointed out. "You actually take the time to care of me and listen to me."

Nathan felt her move a little more against his shoulder and he responded by tightening his grip around her. It felt good to be able to see Haley happy again. It ached him every day to see Haley behave the way she did before. Struggling with her decisions, breaking down and suffering because of a man who couldn't figure out what he wanted. He knew that she was smarter and tougher than that. She needed someone who was willing to protect her from any harm. Someone who wasn't going to hurt her because of their own selfish needs. And now she finally found that completion, that fulfillment that she was searching for. And she found it in him.

"I made a promise, remember?"

"Yeah, _we_ did," she replied.

They continued strolling around the mall, joking and flirting with each other without a single awkward silence through out the walk. They even stopped by the bakery to pick up a cupcake for Haley like Nathan said he'd do. The people surrounding them envied what they had. Especially a certain someone who was window shopping by herself.

Alex glanced over her shoulder after hearing Nathan's voice talk about how they had a month left to triple the sales of the café before his father made a decision to shut it down or not. Then she heard Haley's familiar voice respond back, making her turn fully around to see the faces to the voices. As she did, she found them walking together, hands intertwined together. The sight was utterly heart breaking for her, she couldn't' stand it. She wanted to rush over there and yell at them for making her feel like a vulnerable mess, but they were already fading in the distance, in between the crowd of people. It didn't seem like they noticed she was there at all.

She groaned and snapped back around to face the store window that held a few mannequins that wore beautiful outfits. Lately, she's been struggling with money and her life. After Nathan told her to stay away from them, she had been a jealous mess. Knowing that Nathan's feeling were towards Haley made her feel like trash. Nathan didn't want her. Julian didn't even want her. No one wanted her. The only guys who approached her in the past month were bastard drunks at the club who only wanted to have sex with her. Others were dirty men who whistled at her curvaceous frame. Out of all those men, not one of them looked like boyfriend material. Not one guy seemed interested in her as a person, as someone they wanted a committed relationship with. _Not one. _That was Haley's role. The girl next door. The girl guys wanted to bring home to their mothers. Although she was a complete utter klutz and was on the bottom of the fashionista list, she was the type guys wanted to marry. And Alex hated that. _Hated it._

* * *

Vivian sat in front of a computer at the school library and watched the blinking cursor at the name slot of her college application she was filling out for NYU. After passing all of her exams, and hearing that she was close to having the right grades to enter NYU, she was anxious about filling out the application and sending it. She really wanted to go to study in New York. It was her dream, but she realized that with the amount of money it cost for dormitory, tuition and daily living, it was going to be hard. Especially for her family.

She's always been the selfish type, always mocking her sister, complaining to her mother and trying to fit into the inner circle of friends at school. But lately, ever since she's been working hard at the Paint Shop and watching her sister and mom struggle to keep the bills paid and the debt to Nathan fixed, she's been thinking that she needed to be more reasonable and understanding of how things actually worked in the real world. She studied her ass off for the tests and she's still studying to be able to graduate and get into college. But if she couldn't get into the college of her dreams, she was willing to stay at the university in Tree Hill City to make things easier for her family.

"Are you going to type something on there or what?"

Vivian shook away from her thoughts and turned to her side. Sitting next to her, surprisingly with a new hair-do was Anthony. For a moment, she thought he actually looked handsome for once. She didn't think of him as the dorky, asthmatic boy she knew before. Ever since the week of exams and studying, they both became a lot closer. He became more than just the nerdy boy who followed her around and did whatever she ordered him to do. They developed a friendship. One of the prettiest girls in school with one of the dorkiest guys on campus being friends wasn't something anybody expected.

"What?" he questioned, noticing how she hadn't said a word to him since she glanced his way.

Quickly, she turned back to the computer screen. "I don't know if I want to fill it out - and did you get a hair cut or something because something's different about you?" she questioned, immediately changing the subject.

Anthony let out a small chuckle and smoothed his fingers through his shortened locks. "Yeah, I got a trim yesterday and I started using this new acne face wash my mom bought me."

Vivian furrowed her eyes at the "mother" part, especially knowing how embarrassing it was to know how big of a mama's boy he was. But she brushed that away and turned to him.

"Well you . . . You-you look good," she managed to say and snapped back to the screen.

Anthony's eyebrows curled up, surprised by her stammering compliment and tilted his head to see her face. "Did you just compliment me?"

"So? What of it?"

"I don't know, I'm just - surprised, that's all."

"Well - well be glad that I complimented you. People don't get to hear things like that from me that often."

_So I'm special, _he thought. Shyly he smiled and said, "Thank you, Vivian."

"Whatever," she replied coolly, her fingers still on top of the keys, deciding whether to start typing her name or not.

Noticing her sudden frozen frame in front of the computer, Anthony questioned her actions.

"So why don't you want to fill it out?"

She cleared her throat and glanced at him through her peripheral vision. "Because -"

He leaned in closer to read to the college she was applying to. "NYU, you always wanted to go there! So why aren't you typing your name on it?"

"Because . . . " she repeated.

"Because?"

"Because I'm not sure if me going to NYU will benefit my family," she answered forcefully. Vivian wasn't sure why she was even explaining this to Anthony, but she was. "We're not exactly rich folks, you know. I don't think I can even afford this college."

"But it's your dream school."

"I know, but - wait, how did you know that?" she questioned, turning to him.

"You told me during one of our study sessions. You mumbled it in your sleep."

"I did?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Oh, well. . . Yeah," she responded, turning back to the keyboard. "I'm not sure if going to NYU will help me or hurt me. There's too much money and I can't afford that."

"Scholarships," he suggested.

"I'm not good at anything to even get a scholarship."

"Fashion. You're good at that."

She sighed deeply and leaned forward on the desk, her chin on her hand. "I don't know. I'll have to think about it."

"I'll help you get into that school, Vivian. I will."

"How?"

"I don't know, but I'll see what I can do. I'll start searching for scholarships online that can help you," he answered, turning away from her and focusing on the computer in front of him. He pulled out the web browser and started googling scholarships for fashion designing.

Vivian furrowed her eyes at the hope she saw in his expression. _How could he still be sweet and considerate to me? I'm not exactly Haley James. I'm not really nice nor am I the most classy girl out there but he's still willing to make things happen for me. Clay would never do that. He'd never even think of it. He'd probably just give me advice and tell me to look for an affordable college to help the family. But Anthony, he's letting me fulfill my dreams. He's finding a way for me. _

**

* * *

**

Haley sat at the counter next to Nathan as they waited for Tim to finish making his coffee. For the past week, he's been learning the ways of his master, Percy, in order to be on his level of expertise. Shockingly, the guy was actually focusing on the details and words of Mr. Percy Ryan for once. It was nice to see that too. Haley thought it was quite impressive.

"Alright, here's one for the lovely lady and one for my boss slash best friend." Tim reached over to place a mug of coffee and a cork coaster in front of each one of them. "Tell me how it tastes."

"What is it?" Haley questioned, lacing her fingers around the handle and lifting it up.

"Caramel Macchiato," he answered.

Clay passed by, picking up a couple toothpicks for some of the customers sitting by the window and noticed the couple preparing to taste test Tim's creation.

"Clay, do you want to taste?" Nathan questioned, before taking a sip.

"Uh, I'd rather not risk my life on Tim's concoctions."

"Hey!" Tim snapped.

"I want to live a long, prosperous life, thank you very much!"

"Come on, Clay. I'm sure it's not that bad," Haley replied, bravely taking a sip from the mug Tim had given her. By surprise, her taste buds felt a little tingle from the heat and flavor of the coffee. Her eyes widened, scaring Clay and Nathan in the process. Tim was even terrified by her expression.

"I'm kind of afraid to take a sip now," Nathan mumbled. "You better not drop dead any second," he threatened Haley.

"Oh my God," Haley gasped. "Tim, this is delicious!"

"Really?" Tim snapped, surprisingly himself. "It is?"

"Yeah, Nate, try it," she ordered, excitedly.

Nathan took her reaction as a positive response and decided to take his chance and sipped from the cup. Just like Haley felt, Nathan was astonished by the tickle he experienced on his tongue. It wasn't just because of the heat from the coffee, but the flavor that came with it.

"Damn, Tim," Nathan stated. "Did you spike this or something?"

"No?"

"You guys are joking," Clay stated, trying not to believe the two's reactions.

"Jake," Haley called out, noticing him pass by with a tray. "Come taste." She waved him over and he approached her curiously.

"What is it?"

"Tim made it."

Immediately, Jake stepped back - a little afraid of what's in it. Clay laughed at his reaction.

"Jagielski, it's good," Nathan stated beside him. "Trust me. I tasted it and I'm serious when I'm saying that this is really good."

"_You_ want _me_ to trust _you_?"

Nathan rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. "Seriously? It's been almost a month, man. You're still not over it."

"Nathan," Haley whispered roughly.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It's not that. I'm just trying to be cautious around you because I know how jealous you get because of Haley. I'm making sure you're not trying to kill me off so I won't be near her anymore," he joked.

"Am I really that jealous that I'd kill people away from Haley?"

Clay laughed and showed Nathan what he really thought by pretending to squeeze something between his index finger and thumb. "Maybe this much."

"Ah, whatever," Nathan groaned.

Haley just smiled at the reaction, amused to know that people knew how protective Nathan was of her. Although she didn't like how they stated that he'd kill people away, she thought it was touching to know that's how much he cared for her.

"Come on, Jake. Just taste it. You can at least trust me," Haley suggested. Nathan gave her a playful glare.

Jake stepped forward, held the mug she handed to him and courageously took a quick sip of the coffee. Everyone around him, including Percy who was watching from behind the counter, waited anxiously to see Jake's reaction. First off, he was simply tasting the flavor in his mouth. Secondly, he stopped moving his mouth and his eyes widened. Thirdly, he glanced at Tim with shocking eyes like Haley's and placed the mug back down on the counter. Lastly, he began clapping slowly with an admirable expression.

"Amazing," Jake complimented.

Nathan and Haley both grinned at his reaction and turned to Tim.

"I guess we have ourselves a second barista," Nathan stated.

"All thanks to me," Percy stated, stepping forward and placing a hand on Tim's shoulder.

"He learned from the best," Haley stated.

"But I'll be better," Tim stated, picking up a few more items to start a new batch.

Percy grimaced at the comment and popped Tim upside the head. "Don't get too cocky, grasshopper. You can't overpass the master."

**

* * *

**

Later that night, Nathan invited Haley to come watch a movie and munch on snacks at his house. Ever since they started dating, she's been over for quite some time, which meant that she didn't really need to inform her mother about it. If she wasn't home an hour after work, they knew where she was. At Nathan's.

Haley heard the sound of the microwave beep, signaling her that the popcorn was finished and opened it to grab the freshly buttered bag.

"Yum." She whiffed the smell towards her nose and shut the microwave. Then she began shaking the bag to spread more of the butter towards the bottom of it. "Popcorn's ready!"

"I'm ready for it!" Nathan called out from the couch, his arm waving in the air for her.

She rolled her eyes at him, realizing how lazy he could be, and poured the popcorn into a large bowl. She threw away the bag and shuffled her way out of the kitchen towards the sofa where her boyfriend was sitting with a remote in his hand.

Haley settled herself next to him and placed the bowl on her lap.

"Finally," he stated, reaching over with his large hands and picked up a handful of popcorn like those stuffed toy claw machines at the arcades.

Before he could pull away with the food, she slapped the top of his hand, causing him to drop the bits back into the bowl. "The movie hasn't even started yet. Wait, mister."

"But I'm hungry," he whined.

"Then turn on the DVD player and start the movie."

"You're so demanding, you know that?"

She scoffed as she watched him press the power button. "Look who's talking."

"Hey, I'm the boss, I'm supposed to be demanding."

"You're still demanding outside of work."

Nathan turned to her slowly as the movie started to begin on the screen and gave her a playful grin.

"Just because you're my girlfriend doesn't mean I can't fire you," he whispered.

She gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

"You get no privileges."

She pursed her lips at him and stuck her tongue out in order to annoy him. But it was the complete opposite. He thought it was cute rather than annoying.

"Whatever," she replied, turning her face to the screen where the beginning credits began to appear.

Nathan didn't take his eyes off her. With the TV lights shining over her pretty face, emphasizing the shape of her loveliness, he couldn't believe that she was actually sitting next to him as his girlfriend. She was his. This person, this wonderful girl, was his. He never thought he'd see the day where he'd be having a movie night with a girl in his bachelor pad. Sitting here with her was so much better than going out to a club. This situation, this event, this moment was more personal and intimate than anything else. It was just the two of them. They didn't have to worry about any other pair of eyes undressing them mentally. This was perfect.

Haley could feel his eyes glued to the side of her face. It practically burnt through her skin. That's how hard he was staring.

With a shy smile, she turned to him slowly. "You know the movie is playing over in that direction." She pointed towards the TV.

"I know, I'm just trying to soak in this moment."

She cracked out an embarrassed chuckle. "Stop being cheesy," she stated.

"Cheesy?"

"You know what I mean."

"No, not really," he answered with a serious face.

"Soak in this moment? Really? It couldn't be anymore cheesy than that."

"I'm serious though. I've never had a movie night with a girlfriend before."

Haley stuffed a few popcorn bits into her mouth and chewed it while she gave Nathan a surprised face.

"You've never had a movie night with a girlfriend at all?"

"No, that's why I'm trying to soak in this moment, noting it as my first time."

She laughed at the words 'first time'. "Make sure you rephrase that caption in your memory. You might get it mixed up with the first time you . . . You know."

He chuckled at that and leaned against the head of the couch with his hand supporting his head.

"I'll be sure to correct that," he mumbled.

"Well, then since it's your first time having a movie night with your girlfriend, let's make this special." Haley grabbed his hand that was supporting his head and she shifted closer to him on the couch. Then she wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, her cheek now against his chest. "There, now it's more memorable."

"This is definitely memorable," he mumbled.

She nodded against his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist, holding on tightly to secure herself next to him. And they both focused on the screen as the movie started the first scene of the story. Although they were sitting in silence, tangled in each others' arms, they were still enjoying each others company. As long as they were by each others' side, everything was fine.

Throughout the movie, Haley was thinking about her debt to Nathan and whether he still remembered it or not. Even if she told him and he told her not to worry about it, she wasn't going to accept it. She knew her mother wasn't going to be okay with that. Knowing how things worked with her family, they always gave back what they took. And she took something Nathan adored away from him.

As the end credits began to roll on the screen and the soundtrack began to play, Haley glanced up and found Nathan falling asleep. She sighed deeply and bit on her bottom lip, deciding whether to wake up or not to talk about the debt situation.

Slowly, she pulled her hand out from around his waist and poked him on the shoulder.

"Nathan," she whispered. He moaned and smacked his lips a little bit. She poked him again. "Nathan, I need to talk to you about something."

At the sound of her voice, his eyes fluttered open. "Okay," he whispered.

"I want to talk about my debt."

Quickly, his eyes narrowed at her. "Debt?"

_I knew it. He forgot. _"Yeah, the one for your car."

"I've already got a new one," he answered, straightening himself up on the couch. "I didn't know there was still a debt."

"Well there still is. Remember you hired me so that I could repay some of what I owed you? I guess with everything that's happened lately, you forgot how this all started."

He cleared his throat and thought about that day he offered her a job at the café.

_"Do you want to work here?" she heard someone say from behind her._

_Haley turned around and found Nathan standing there, holding a cardboard box of bottles. Work here? She wasn't quite sure how to answer that. She wasn't sure how she could even work in a coffee shop. She didn't know a lot about making coffee nor being a waitress. But after hearing her mother say that she needed to do more than just paint a mural for him, she thought maybe this could do it._

_"You want me to work here?" Haley repeated._

_Nathan placed the box down beside his feet and brushed the dirt off his hands. "I was going to make this an all men work place, but since you're already working for me, I might as well hire you too."_

_"Uh," Haley began._

_"Hire her," Clay stated, smiling from the kitchen doors._

_"You're going to hire her?" Tim questioned unhappily as he stood by the counter with a broom in his hand._

_"Yeah, if she wants to," Nathan replied, waiting for Haley's answer._

_"I guess," she stated. "I owe you more than just a mural anyways."_

_Nathan lifted an eyebrow and began to think. He realized that she was right. He actually had enough money in the bank to pay for a new car, he just wanted her to pay for it since she destroyed it. But seeing that she was willing to slave after him and do things for him was good enough. She was pretty smart after all. And he began nodding his head, impressed. "Good thinking," he complimented._

After realizing that she was right, he glanced at her, and shook his head.

"You don't owe me anymore. You don't have to pay me back."

"I feel like I still do. You know, I've put through you so much these several months. With Julian, with Alex, your car? I mean, I feel like I owe so much more than the rest of the money I need to pay."

"Haley," he began. "Look, from the beginning it was about the money. I hired you to make you pay for what you did, but things have changed. Having you at the café wasn't about the car anymore. As you can tell, I had forgotten all about it. So the debt doesn't exist anymore."

She sighed deeply and looked down at her hands.

"Why are you worrying about the debt anyways?"

"Before Christmas, I was thinking about it and started wondering when the day that debt didn't exist anymore. It made me think that once that time arrived, I'd have to leave the café because I would no longer have a purpose there. I was afraid to leave your side, that's why I worried about it. "

"So you were going to leave me once the debt was over?"

She looked up quickly, hearing the tone of his voice. He seemed upset. "Yes, but that was before you wanted to be with me. Then, I thought I was causing you so much burden. With your family, mother, the cafe and everything else. I thought once the debt was gone, I'd leave so you could finally be free of stress. You wouldn't have anything to worry about anymore"

He chuckled nervously. "I'd still be stressed out without you there, you know." He sighed deeply and continued. "Are you still thinking of doing that? Leaving me?"

"No," she snapped. "Not anymore. We made a promise to always be by each others side. I'm not going to break that promise now."

"Me either," he replied. "The day I made that promise to you, all that debt, the car, everything, was gone. That's when I decided to start off with a clean slate with you. Nothing you did in the past was going to affect how I felt about you. That's why I agreed to that promise. I wanted you to stay by my side. The debt was gone a long time ago, Haley. Not once did I ever look at you and think 'Oh, that girl still owes this much money'. Not once. All I ever thought about was 'how could this girl be so broken? She needs strength. She needs someone to protect her. She's too lovely to be this way'. It wasn't about the money. I needed you. For the café and to be with me."

With their eyes locked and the soundtrack of the movie playing in the background, Nathan noticed how watery her eyes became. He reached over to brush away a lock of her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"The only thing you owe me is," he continued. She looked at him with curiosity, wondering how he was going to end that sentence. "For you to stay by my side, support me and be the only girl for me."

The corner of her lips curled up, hesitantly smiling at his words and wrapped her around his waist, holding tightly against her.

"That, I can afford," she mumbled against his chest.

He squeezed her closer and felt her shift in her place. Glancing down, he locked eyes with her brown orbs, smiled, and leaned in for simple yet sensual kiss. After three more kisses, they parted and he lightly poked her in the nose. Then they settled back against each other and watched the fire in the fire place until they both fell asleep in each others' arms.

* * *

A couple of mornings later, something fishy was happening at the café. While Tim and Percy were creating multiple batches of coffee at a time in the past several days, they noticed a big decrease of customers entering the coffee shop. It started to make all the guys wonder what was the major cause of this decline in sales all of a sudden.

"I think Tim's coffee is scaring off all the customers," Clay joked, cleaning up one of the empty tables by the entrance.

"Shut up. My coffee's good, man."

"Then what the hells is going on? We haven't been getting many customers this week," Clay wondered, spraying another table with windex.

"We need to find out soon or else we're not going to raise the numbers," Nathan stated, his hands on his hips, clearly frustrated with what's keeping them from succeeding in their process.

A few moments later, Jake walked in with a puzzled look on his face and glanced over his shoulder as if something was annoying him.

"What's with the face, Jagielski," Nathan questioned.

"People are walking this way, but it looks like someone's stopping them from coming in. I don't know where or who's doing it, but everyone keeps looking at the place like it's contaminated or something," Jake explained.

"What?"

"Come look." Jake opened the door and waved his boss to come outside to check it out.

Both of them stepped down from the café shop and noticed people passing by, shaking their heads at them in disgust. They didn't understand what the outraged expression were about, but Nathan was going to get to the bottom of it.

So he stepped in front of the customers who used to be a regular and asked gently what was going on.

"Excuse me, but is there a problem here?"

"Problem?" the woman questioned rudely. "If I had known there were rodents and roaches crawling around in that café of yours, I wouldn't have spent so much money coming here every day."

"Huh? Rodents?"

She scoffed. "Disgusting! You don't even know you have mice crawling around in your building?"

"We don't have mice in here," Jake stepped forward, correcting the lady. "Where did you hear that from?"

"There's a rumor going around that you guys do. Unless you get a exterminator to check this place out, I don't think anybody's going to step inside."

"But we don't have that problem, ma'm. What your hearing is a lie," Nathan snapped.

"Well we need proof. With this rumor going around and you trying to tell us that it's not true, it will not remove the fowl thoughts we have of this place until we have evidence that it's cleaned."

"You come in every day, why are you believing that rumor rather than us?" Jake questioned.

She shrugged sheepishly. "You are all very handsome young men, but your attractiveness isn't going to settle this. If this place is filthy, people will think it's filthy, not matter how beautiful the workers are. You just to need to clear up those rumors or else your business will fail."

The two guys could no longer speak as more people they grew familiar with completely passed them by, without even glancing at the place. The woman gave them a sympathetic expression and stepped aside to continue towards where she was headed.

"This is unbelievable," Nathan murmured, pulling at his hair. "Who the hell would start this rumor?"

"Whoever it is, they really don't want us to keep the place," Jake answered.

"Damn it!"

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired! :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Hi loves! I'm back with another update. It's the second to last chapter of the story. :( I know, I know. Sadness. Anyways, thank you all for the encouraging words and reviews. I always love reading them. It keeps me my day bright every time I read them.** KTXX** - I am so glad that you're in love with my story. And yes, I think we all want a cutie patootie Nathan in our lives. Oh fictional characters. Why do they always have to be perfect! lol. thanks again boo. **kaefoster -** oh no worries, love. you don't need to explain anything. i'm just happy that you still remember my story and actually sparing some time to let me know that you haven't forgotten it. i really appreciate the love, hun! hopefully you'll get better soon! :) **othfan1919 -** aww that was the sweetest comment ever. thank you so much for the wonderful words. i always love meeting new readers. it's always refreshing. & i will definitely fulfill your wish to continue updating/writing! lots of love! **babycakes** - hi sweetums, sorry i haven't been really responding back or making replies to your lovely posts, i just haven't had the time. but i am now. i really hope you did well on your test, love. i'm not going to allow you to slack off! hehe. and oh, i miss timmy time too! he brought humor to the show. but that's what the fictional world is for! eek. you know i always enjoy reading your reviews. you will always be one of my most loyal readers ever! :)

& i can see how all of you are anticipating who started the rumors at the end of the last chapter. well this one will definitely answer all your questions. it will also tie up loose ends between a few characters. i'm not really sure how i like how this chapter turned out, but i hope you enjoy it!

Annie

* * *

**Chapter 19.**

"Alex!" Nathan cried out as he paid for Haley's sandwich at one of the catering trucks parked at the side of the road. "I think it was Alex!"

He handed her the chili dog as she thought about his guess, and she shook her head.

"I don't think it was her."

He grabbed his food and stepped back to let the other people get in line. Then he glanced at her curiously.

"What?"

"I mean, I know Alex hasn't been the kindest person these past several months, but I don't think she'd go this far just to put her anger on us. We were really close before everything happened with Julian. Trying to shut down the café? That's not her."

He chuckled nervously as they both began walking down the city streets at night.

"How would you know that? She wasn't exactly honest to you when you _were_ friends. She took your fiancé away and then tried to reprimand you."

Haley took a bite off of her hot dog and nodded her head in agreement. He was right about Alex not being completely honest about Julian, but she remembered how Alex reacted the day she found out Haley knew about the affair. Alex looked concerned and torn to see Haley heart broken like that. As if she didn't want to cause her any pain. But then things turned around after that. A complete 180.

"After what's she's done to me, I'm supposed to hate her, right?"

"I would think so."

"But somehow I can't," she went on. "I forgave Julian and he was the one who was going to marry me. I believe that if I continue hating her for taking something away from me, I will continue keeping that grudge against her and we'll never move on from that."

"Haley, what she did to you wasn't forgivable though. "

"Maybe not, but I don't want to look at Alex as the girl who took my fiancé away for the rest of my life. I just don't want to have the heavy burden of that weighing me down anymore. So if I believe that Alex is truly a good person, then maybe I can trust her again. I won't have to worry about the past."

"Haley -"

"That would help, right?" she cut in quickly.

He glanced at her, noticing the want and hope in her eyes as if she wanted him to say yes. But Nathan didn't really agree to her trusting Alex again. In all honesty, he didn't like how Julian and Alex treated her after the affair. She was already broken and they made it worse. That's the one part that he didn't like the most about the situation. But it was obvious that Haley wanted to move on from it. She wanted to leave it to the past and never touch it again. After getting to know her and her character, he realized that Haley wasn't the kind of person who would hate someone for a long time. _Hate_ wasn't in her soul. She hated him and Tim in the beginning, but that changed after a while of spending time with each other. But when hate was in her, it only brought her down. So it made sense that Haley would think this way. Again, it was admirable to see that in someone because most of the time, no one would ever want to forgive someone for betraying them at this level. It seemed like Haley was the only one.

"Right?" she repeated.

Nathan zoned out of his thoughts and observed her expression. He sighed deeply and gave her a comforting smile.

"If you believe that Alex didn't do it, then I believe that she didn't either."

"So it will make it better?" she smiled.

"I think so," he nodded.

Haley appreciated that answer and bit another piece off of her hot dog. Nathan looked at her, not even touching his food and noticed the little mustard stain at the corner of her mouth. Laughing to himself, he stopped by a bench, placed his hot dog on top of it and turned to her.

"Come here," he chuckled.

"Huh?" she responded, questioningly.

In a quick second, he grasped her face in between his hands and kissed the corner of her lips gently, shocking her. Her eyes widened at the touch, feeling a flicker in her chest. But once he parted, she was saddened by the fact that he didn't kiss her longer.

"You had mustard on your mouth," he explained. " I had to clean it."

Blushing at the thought, Haley leaned forward without hesitation and practically smashed her lips against his, hardening the kiss in order to make up for the loss time of the previous one. She wrapped her arm that was holding her hot dog around his neck and tightening their embrace, making Nathan chuckle during their intimate moment.

"Are you laughing at me?" she whispered against his mouth.

"Maybe," he answered, giving her a small kiss, their foreheads still touching. "Who knew you'd be the aggressive one."

She grinned. "That's why you gotta watch out for the nice ones."

* * *

Tim poured a mug of boiling water into a mug and then placed it on the counter for someone to grab. But unfortunately no one was around to take it besides Clay who was bored to death looking out the window for a single customer.

"You know, it's really unnecessary to keep making cups of coffee when no one is coming in to buy some," Clay stated, taking a sip from his cup.

"I'm trying to enhance my skills, besides, if I keep making coffee then maybe the people outside would want some. It's a coffee shop, it needs to smell like it, right?"

Clay sighed deeply and glanced back at the window where Jake was sitting beside reading one of his thick novels. As always, he was minding his own business at the corner of the shop.

"Doesn't this look familiar to you?" he questioned.

"It's how we started from the very beginning," Percy stated, sitting on his chair behind the counter.

"Yeah, and what did we do to fix that?" Clay asked.

"Haley," Jake answered. "Haley fixed it."

"Too bad she doesn't work the mornings. If she was here the whole day, things might get resolved sooner than later," said Tim.

"Maybe if you four lazy bums stop moping around the café, then maybe you'll actually resolve something. If we want to keep this place, we can't keep waiting for something to happen on it's own to do that," Nathan announced as he stepped down from the stairs.

They all turned to him as he approached the counter. Dark circles could be seen underneath his eyes. It was obvious that he was stressing out about the rumors that were going around the city about the café. He had no clue who started it and why they were. They had less than a month left to raise the sales and he didn't know how to fix it.

It wasn't about impressing his parents anymore or wanting them to be proud of him. The café had become something precious to him and he didn't want to let it go that easily.

"What do you want us to do, Nate?" Clay questioned. "Run around the city asking every citizen if they knew who started the rumors? Do you even know how many people live in this city?"

Nathan sighed deeply and leaned against the counter, exhausted. "Maybe if you ask only one, they'll give you a source."

"How about that guy who came into the café on opening night? Maybe he did it," Tim mentioned.

Nathan recalled that day. Tim was talking about Julian. He only stopped by to check the place out, but was only met with him and Haley, making their first impressions of each other not so good. Although that's how it was, he didn't think he would do that. There was nothing he had against the café, so it wouldn't make sense for him to start the rumors.

There was only one person who kept coming in to mind. He wanted to believe Haley when she said she wouldn't do it, but Alex seemed to be the only suspect. He remembered telling her to stay away from him and from Haley over the phone that one night. He hadn't seen her since then. And it made him worry about what his consequences were because of that.

* * *

Alex was busy folding clothes at the boutique she worked at when she noticed two older women walk into the store. They were wearing fine jewelry and expensive shoes. And she watched them as they picked through the racks of dresses by the window. She could practically hear them their whole conversation. They either didn't care that people were listening or they had a volume problem. But Alex tried to mind her own business as they glanced at the blouses in her head, thinking about taking it or not.

"Chivalry Café isn't doing so good lately," the red head stated to the brunette.

"Yeah I've heard. The rumors are really affecting their customers, huh?"

"Of course. If I knew that the restaurant I've been going to for the past several months was infested with rodents, I would stop going there in a second."

"Too bad, the workers there are absolutely gorgeous there!"

"I know, but it's really not helping my husband's business if they continue being successful like that. The competition in this city is really intense, you know."

"It's a nasty business," the brunette replied.

Hearing the conversation, Alex became curious of what they were pertaining to. She wanted to continue listening to she tried to focused her attention to her work to hide her curiosity.

"Yeah, but that's how my husband works. Ever since Chivalry opened, Java Jolt's sales have decrease by twenty percent. The only way to beat the competition was to secretly start the rumors about the café."

"What if someone finds out that your husband started the rumors?"

Alex's eyes widened, shocked that she found who was trying to ruin Chivalry, and loudly cleared her throat to disturb the older women. It was just a few days ago when she overheard Haley and Nathan talking about increasing the sales in less than a month or else the café would be shut down. Although she hated how they were together and how Haley always managed to catch the good ones, she wanted to help them out. She couldn't let that place shut down. Despite everything that's happened, she grew to love the café more than any other location she's ever visited. It was the only place where men actually treated her well. They were gentlemen. Hence the name, Chivalry. And she couldn't let someone take that away from her or any other woman in her position.

"No one's going to find out," the red head stated. "So try to keep it a secret."

The brunette giggle quietly. "I promise. It's kind of fun causing trouble secretly."

"I know, right? Like I said, it's part of the business," the red head replied confidently. She picked up a dress, made a face at it and place it back on the racks. "Ugh. None of these outfits are attractive. Let's go find somewhere else to shop."

Alex looked up and hardened her stare at the two women as they walked towards the exit.

"Have a good day, ladies!" Alex cried out harshly before they walked out completely.

Once they left, one of Alex's employees approached her by the shelf.

"Alex, haven't you noticed something lately? I just checked inventory and there are a couple of clothes missing. Have you been observing the customers?" she questioned.

Quickly, her throat became dry. Her shop lifting habits were beginning to show up and she was afraid of the consequences of it. She either had to confess or quit before they start suspecting her.

"Oh, I didn't notice. I guess I've been too nosey listening to people's conversations rather than checking if their stealing or not."

Her employee looked at her strangely, noticing something distrustful I her eyes. She began nodding and glanced at her clipboard that had the inventory list attached to it.

"Alright, well try looking closely from now on. You know how expensive these clothes are. We don't want the boss to get mad at us for letting people go off with them freely."

"I'll work harder."

"Okay, well I'll be in the back. Remember, keep your eyes open."

"Okay."

* * *

"Bored, bored, bored, I'm bored!" Tim whined, his head down against one of the tables one evening at the café. "When are we ever going to get any customers?"

"It's already been three days," Jake began, stepping outside of the bathroom. "What's the use of going to work anymore."

"Jake, how can you say that?" Haley snapped. "We can't give up on the café. We can't."

"We're not getting anything done. All we do is wait and wait. And no one's coming," Clay replied.

"Then-then-then maybe I can set up a table outside and do what I did before," she suggested, standing up from her seat with confidence.

"Like last time?" Tim questioned.

Haley nodded excitedly. "Yeah, remember that old man who loved Percy's coffee? Maybe if he comes around again, he'll come back inside."

"It's getting late. I don't think that old man is going to come by at this time," Tim stated. "There's no way we'll ever find the source of this."

"We might as well get an exterminator to come here and solve the problem."

"I'm not getting a fucking exterminator," Nathan cried out, walking in. "This place is clean. I know it. Before this café became what it is now, it was a wreck. "

"Tell me about it. I remember seeing that rat like it was yesterday," Tim recalled, remembering a memory from the time they were building the place up.

"TIM!" Nathan snapped.

"Sorry. Wrong timing."

He sighed deeply and continued what he was trying to say. "We've cleaned this place from top to bottom. Ever since I stepped inside this café and saw how foul this place originally was, I made sure that this place was in tip top shape before I opened it. I'm not about to call an exterminator to try to prove those rumors wrong."

"Son, it seems to be the only way to resolve them," Percy stated.

"No," Nathan refused. "I'm not going to hire someone when there's nothing wrong with the place."

"Then what are we going to do, Nathan?" Haley questioned. "We can't find the source and we can't persuade the customers to come back. How are we going to save the café in this condition?"

"Did somebody call for help!" someone questioned from the door.

Everyone turned to the entrance and found Vivian walking in with a few familiar faces behind her.

"Viv! What are you doing here?" Haley asked, approaching her sister and mother.

"You said that the café's been suffering lately, so we decided to invite a few useful people," she answered, holding her back pack around her arm. She glanced at Clay who was looking at her with his handsome grin, but she didn't receive it in the way she always did. Her heart didn't race. She didn't get shy. She just flashed him a comforting, friendly smile.

"Mr. Kim, Anthony?"

"I close Paint Shop today. I want help place that got me to sing again," Mr. Kim answered.

"Yeah, I really like the coffee here. Plus, it helped me become closer to Vivian," Anthony explained, looking at the back of Vivian's head. "I don't want to lose that memory."

Haley grinned happily as she felt the sincerity in their voices. Having them come at a time of need made her heart skip a beat.

"I brought some of my customers, if that's okay," Lydia stated, showing off a handful of people she tailored for, especially their daughters and friends.

"Of course it's fine, mom!"

"It's not much but-"

"No, it's perfect," Haley cut in, embracing her mother to the side of her affectionately. "I'm so glad that you did this for us. For Nathan."

"Any time, honey," nuzzling against her daughter's neck.

They both turned to Nathan who was standing by the counter as he led people towards the tables inside the café. His face brightened up as soon as he saw people walk in. It was as if he had never seen this many people in his life before which was ironic because he was always surrounding by a numerous amount of people.

Viewing the satisfaction on Nathan's face was overwhelming and relieving at the same time. It wasn't easy for Haley to see Nathan stressed out and concerned for the café for the past few days. She could tell that he really loved it. He really developed a true liking towards the place he was forced to manage. With the lack of experience and wisdom he put into it, Chivalry had become something that really important to him. The café being important was probably the last thing he thought it would ever be. But if offered him many opportunities and growth. And she saw him become the man he was through that process.

His passion for the café was somehow similar to the way he felt about his car and maybe even about her. It was obvious that he didn't want to lose it. He was willing to work hard to keep it. So it was really heart breaking to see Nathan lose hope in his smile the past few days she's spent with him. But seeing him finally smile like he was now was the most beautiful sight she's ever seen. She was glad that she stuck by his side to see that.

Approaching the mother and daughter moment, Nathan stepped forward, giving them a soft gaze.

"Thank you, Lydia," he stated.

"Anything for the man who helped my daughter heal," she answered. "You know, if it wasn't for you and this café, Haley wouldn't be this happy. It wasn't easy for me to see her behave the way she did. So I want to _thank you _for doing that for me."

Nathan glanced at Haley, content with what she's given him and what he was able to give her, and then turned his sight back to Lydia. He figured it must've been hard for her after her husband's death. To raise two girls like Haley and Vivian was probably hectic. They both had really vivacious personalities. And he looked up to her for that. So he was happy to be able to take some weight off her shoulders in order for her to breathe a little bit.

"Of course," he smiled.

Lydia parted from Haley and stepped forward to grab Nathan's manly hands into hers.

"So please, take good care of her, okay? She's suffered and risked a lot for people. And I would really appreciate it if you treat her right."

Haley's grew curious and a little embarrassed and stepped forward. "Mom, why are you saying this all of a sudden?" her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm just telling him. I mean, since you two have been dating for more than a month now, I just wanted to remind him that you need more love than your previous relationship."

"Mom," she mumbled through her teeth, bothered by the use of the love in that sentence.

"What? It's not like he didn't know about Julian."

"Still."

Nathan noticed how nervous Haley was becoming and decided to say something to stop all the talking.

"Don't worry, I already love her more than Julian has."

Without clearly listening to his words, she turned to her grinning mother and said, "See, there's nothing to worry about. He said that he -," she paused, her eyes widening. "What?"

Lydia noticed that something memorable was about to happen, so she squealed silently to herself, tried covering her cheesy smile with her hands and stepped to the side.

"I'm going to go join the others. I think you two need a moment alone," she smiled, turning around, leaving the two by the door.

Haley scoffed softly as she watched her mother walk away. With her head turned, she could feel her heart racing frantically and the burning gaze coming from Nathan's direction. Slowly, she turned to Nathan shyly, her head slightly tilted down and her eyes peeking up at him.

"Should we step outside and talk about this?" she questioned.

"What's the need to?" he replied, stepping forward. She clearly saw the proximity between them now. "I'll just repeat myself."

Her eyes widened and felt her throat suddenly go dry. "Okay," she whispered, biting her lip nervously.

Leaning forward, he peeked over her shoulder to see if anybody was listening. He saw Lydia craning her head a little bit towards them along with the curiosity of the people surrounding her. He chuckled at the sight and then returned his gaze at his girlfriend.

He looked calm and relaxed on the outside, but his insides were going crazy. Saying these three big words to someone wasn't easy. Especially for a woman. He never thought he'd ever confess it to someone nor say with others around. Even though he was nervous, all he wanted to do was just say it. Say it to her, and to the world.

Taking a glimpse of her big, light brown eyes, he smiled and whispered, "I said I love you."

In that moment, Haley could feel electricity jolt in every nerve in her body. She was getting hot from the intensity of that moment. Her cheeks were even burning from the bashfulness she was experiencing.

"Really?" she mouthed.

Nathan smirked and nodded. "Really. But I understand if you don't feel the same way."

Her jaw tightened and she gave him a playful glare. "Don't be silly cause. . . Cause I love you too."

"AWWWWW!" they heard them yell from behind them, causing them to giggle. They turned towards them as the guys starts dancing around like fools and started making kissy faces at each other like a couple of children.

"You guys make me sick!" Vivian cried out, making disgusted faces at them. "Look what you did," pointing at Tim and Clay holding hands and running in circles. "They look like idiots. You caused that."

Nathan and Haley observed the clowns prancing around the coffee shop and let out light chuckles. But they couldn't completely turn away from each other. Both of them smiled at each other, joyful by their little confession and whispered sweet nothings to each other before Nathan leaned in to kiss her sensually on the lips.

"Hey!" Jake cried out from the counter. "I told you guys not to do that in front of me."

With his hands still cupping her face, he smiled and began leaving pecks all over her face. "I can't help it, she's so kissable."

"AGH!" Haley cried out. "Stop, don't make him mad. Jake, don't get mad."

Jake just rolled his eyes playfully and walked away, saying, "Get a room!"

They both laughed and turned to each other.

"Come on, let's start serving these customers. I'm sure they're anticipating to taste Tim's amazing coffee," Haley ordered, grabbing a hold of Nathan's hand.

But before they could fully turn around, they heard someone enter the café. And by surprise, it was the last person they least expected to see at the café. Haley, in particular, was really shocked to see her ex-best friend standing by the door with a different expression on her face. It wasn't the usual smug, snobby look she always sported around like she was the queen of skanks. For once, Alex actually looked like a real, sincere, human being. At least that's what Haley saw through her eyes. Alex didn't even have to say one word to express that kind of feeling for Haley to understand.

"Hey," Alex greeted softly.

Nathan's jaw tightened and stepped back wards to leave his spot, but Alex reached out to tell him to wait.

"Look, I know that you don't want me around you or Haley, but I came here to tell you something."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Vivian called out from the across the room, annoyance written all over her face.

"Vivian, she just came here to talk. So just calm down!" Haley replied.

"Seriously, Haley? You're going talk to her? I mean standing in the café is already crossing the line, you know. You don't know what she's going to do."

Haley sighed deeply, feeling the tension suddenly between them. Scratching her temple nervously, she glanced at Nathan for support.

"Don't mind her," Haley smiled softly towards Alex. "Let's talk outside."

The skinny brunette nodded and took a quick glimpse at Nathan. "This involves you too, Nathan."

"Me?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you'd like to know this," Alex answered as she opened the door.

Haley and Nathan exchanged curious looks before they followed Alex outside onto the wooden patio. It was slightly windy which made Haley's nerves grow a little more hectic than before.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"It's about the café."

"What about it?"

Keeping her head down, Alex fiddled with her red polished nails and said, "At my work, I overheard these two women talk about how the café wasn't doing so well. They talked about the nasty rumors about rodents crawling around and how no one seems to be wanting to come visit. I was shocked to hear those rumors." She looked up. "Really shocked because this place was really popular. And so they kept on talking and one lady said that her husband started the rumors because Chivalry was gaining too much attention and was ruining his business. So he started a nasty competition with you guys."

Nathan furrowed his eyes at her, not really believing her words. "How do we know you're not lying?"

"I know I've made some bad impressions of myself to you and to Haley, but I'm here to fix all of that. I want to help you guys out. You know, it's been really lonely for me lately. And it's not fun being alone. It's actually really pitiful and embarrassing to know that I have no one to talk to or turn to. And I blame myself that. But if you don't me believe, I understand. I'm not really the one anybody should be trusting anyways," Alex replied softly. She was about to turn on her heel and leave, but she felt someone grab onto her to arm. Looking up, she found that it was Haley.

"I believe you," Haley stated.

Nathan sighed deeply, scratching the back of his neck and asked, "Who was it?"

"The owner of the Java Jolt."

Haley looked at Alex, observing the innocence written all over her face, and noticed how she missed this person. It had been a very long time since she saw this side of Alex Dupre. This was how she truly was from the beginning of their friendship. Kind. Sincere. Honest. Loyal. If only continued being this sweet girl, everything would've been a lot easier and less dramatic than it was.

Shaking away those thoughts, she turned to Nathan. "How are we going to approach them?"

"You guys can go to court for slander," Alex suggested.

"No, I'm not going to go to court over a stupid rumor."

Scoffing, Haley placed her hands on her hips and glared at Nathan. "It's a stupid rumor. First you don't want an exterminator to prove those rumors wrong. Now that you know who started them, you don't want to solve it in court. So Nathan, if it's just a stupid rumor, then let's just try to overcome it ourselves."

"That's the thing, I don't know how to do that."

"Yes you do," Haley encouraged. "You overcame the atrocity that this café once was and made it into a successful, beautiful one. So that means you can overcome a dirty rumor and make Chivalry an even better coffee shop by using your skills and abilities. Just try."

"If I were you, I'd try to resolve it in court and get the money, but from what I can see, Haley's right," Alex began. "We must try to overcome the bad in order to receive the good. That's how we move on with life, right?" she asked, turning to Haley who seemed to understand the hidden message in her question.

Nathan glanced at Haley's hopeful angelic expression, then looked at Alex who seemed a lot different than the girl he once knew. Just the fact that these two women, who once hated each others' guts (they probably still do) were standing in front of them, agreeing with each other was kind of weird to see. But then again, seeing them act like this without raising a hand or pulling a chunk of hair was relieving and refreshing. Haley had already told him that she wanted to move on from the past. And having Alex courageously come to the café and tell him this news was also a sign that they both wanted to move on. And that motivated him to overcome the rumors.

"Alright then," Nathan stated.

"We can do it," Haley smiled, squeezing his arm comfortingly. "We just have to gather more of our friends and family members to keep coming to the café. We have to show them that we haven't given up."

"Plus, we can start our own rumors," Alex suggested.

"I'm not playing fire with fire, Alex. I know that's how you roll, but I've had enough drama these past several months."

The girls both scoffed and both playfully slapped him on the arms. "I mean, start positive rumors about Chivalry and maybe all the other coffee shops," she corrected.

"She has a point!" Haley agreed. "If we compliment every one else's business, Chivalry's reputation will only increase because of our kindness and generosity."

"Hmm," he began to think .

"You did name the café _Chivalry Café. _And our motto is _'we serve all and we'll always treat you right!'" _Haley grinned, batting her eyelashes excessively in front of him.

He chuckled and brushed his fingers down her eyes to make her stop. "Alright. I get it."

Alex watched the two flirt with each other silently in their own little world and grew uncomfortable. She figured it was because of the jealousy running through her veins, but like Julian said, this was probably her punishment. In order to fix her mistakes, she had to pretty much change her ways. There was no other way besides that. Even if she did change her ways, her friendship with Haley may never be the same. She knew that. And Haley knew that as well.

"I guess I should go now," Alex manage to say, interrupting the two. Turning around with her hand, she slowly stepped down the patio to leave, but once again Haley called out her name.

"Wait, Alex," she cried out. "Stay for a while and have a cup of coffee. Chivalry needs as many customers as it can get."

Alex smiled at the offer and stepped forward.

"Come on," Haley offered, waving her towards the door.

"Before we go inside, can we talk for a moment?" Alex stated, stopping Nathan and Haley from entering the café.

"I'll meet you guys inside," Nathan stated, figuring that they needed to talk amongst themselves anyways. Leaning down, he planted a sweet kiss on Haley's cheek and entered the café, leaving the two ladies outside to chat.

"Okay," Haley nodded and faced Alex who was now standing beside her, fidgeting with her nails again.

"Look, I want to officially apologize to you about-"

"No," Haley cut in.

"What?" Alex snapped, shocked, her eyes wide.

"I don't want to talk about the past anymore."

"But I really want to apologize, Haley. I won't be able to move on if I don't do it. "

"It's not needed. Apologies are overdue now."

Alex scoffed silently. "So I can't say sorry?"

"I just don't want to hear an apology. The past is the past now."

"Well I just want you to at least know that I am sorry for what I've done. I just can't live with that burden anymore. And I'm not saying that just to get rid of the weight of my mistakes and be done with it like it never happened. I'm saying it because I want you to understand that I was wrong. Like I said before, it's not easy being alone. Ever since everything happened between us and Julian, I lost the people I really cherished. I was selfish and stupid. And I thought that I could get away with anything because I thought I was the shit. But. . . Acting that way, feeling like I owned the world only made me feel lonely in _this _world."

"Now you know how I felt. Feeling like the world was caving in on you and no one was going to be there to protect you."

"But look what you have," Alex cut in. "When you fell apart, you had someone else to lean on. Your family, Nathan and the guys. I didn't have that. I didn't have anyone but me, myself, and I."

Haley smiled at the thought of everyone inside the café. Every single person helped her in a different way in order to help her heal from the pain that Alex and Julian caused. She was truly thankful for that. But then she turned to Alex, the girl she once leaned on, and realized that everyone deserved a shoulder to cry on. If no one was willing to be that shoulder, Haley was going to be it for her. She didn't want her to feel unwanted or unloved. No one deserved to feel that way, no matter how badly they treated people before.

"That's why I envy you, Haley."

"Huh? You envied me?"

"That's silly, right? Even though I've said some really cruel things to you in the past, it was just me trying to hide my jealousy. "

"I don't understand. Why would you be jealous of me? I'm not exactly Miss Perfect. There's nothing about me that needs to be envied."

"Are you kidding? Haley, you are the kind of girl every guy wants to marry." Haley chuckled at that moment. "I'm not joking. You have the personality and well-being of a woman that every man wants and what every woman wants to be. Even though you dress the way you dress, you can still turn a guy's head just by your voice or your smile or your laugh or even your talents. I mean, look at it this way, Julian wanted to marry you in the beginning. And even after what happened, he still wanted you. He didn't even want me anymore the minute he lost you. Now you have Nathan, and all the other guys in the café. You know how to steal a man's heart without even trying. You know how to care for someone and make them feel good inside. You're just a good person, Haley. I mean, right now, you're talking to me after everything I've done to you. Those are the reasons why I envy you. "

Haley smiled at her kind words. "All the cat fights don't exactly make me a good person."

"But those fights were needed. People need to blow up some times."

Haley nodded and glanced behind her to check on her family and friends. "I'm not perfect, Alex, nor am I someone to be jealous of. But I do know that I'm a sister, a daughter, a lover, a _fighter_, and a friend." Looking at the skinny brunette, she continued. "If you know how to be any one of those, you'll be fine. There's nothing else to be envious about in anyone else."

Alex figured that Haley was right. If she was any one of those, she'd have someone by her side. She'd have someone to lean on and talk to. She'd be the girl someone cared for and thought of. Because a daughter has parents, a sister has siblings, a lover has a partner, a fighter has a support system and a friend has someone other than family to listen and understand them. It was nice to see it that way. It made her feel like she wasn't really lonely in this world.

"I don't have a sister, but I'd really like one," Alex spoke.

Grinning softly, Haley reached over to grab her former best friend's hand. "Come on. Tim's coffee is pure candy."

* * *

For the next couple of weeks, nearing the end of the café's 3 month journey, Chivalry staff and friends have been working extra hard to raise the sales in time. People like Mr. Kim, Lydia, Vivian, Alex, and Anthony have all endorsed their time to help the place out in order to keep the coffee shop. Lydia's customers and Vivian's friends have become regular customers now. Every day and every evening they'd come by to buy some of brew and study and chat. Some old regulars even back once they realized that people were raving about the new barista's coffee, making Tim a popular topic through the rumors Alex and Haley created.

Without trying to ruin the other coffee shops in the city, they were able to overcome all the nasty rumors that were being spread about the shop. People practically forgot about all the rumors. Not one person cringed at the name of Chivalry in a conversation. It was all smiles and googly eyes. Not just because of the coffee, but because of the even brighter faces that worked there.

The people at Java Jolt were becoming irritated at the success Chivalry was achieving despite all the hard work of ruining the business to shut it down. It amused Nathan and the guys a little bit because they were able to overcome an obstacle that an outside created for them. Thinking it was a time to give up on the café, the bad gave them encouragement and motivation to become something better than it was before.

Now with everyone, friends and enemies, gathering together, Chivalry café was able to achieve a goal that everyone had been anticipating.

Entering Nathan's office, Haley observed her boyfriend concentrating on a few important documents on the table. From the way his forehead wrinkled, it looked like some serious information. It was either bad news or it was just complicated for Nathan to fully understand. Either way, Haley thought he still looked handsome. But of course she wished it wasn't bad news.

Knocking on the door for his attention, he glanced up from his table. "I brought you coffee," Haley stated, striding towards him.

"Thanks," he smiled.

Haley placed the coffee mug on top of a coaster at the corner of his desk and settled down on the sit across from it.

"So how's everything looking so far?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't calculated the sales yet."

Craning her neck to see what he was reading, she said, "Aren't you supposed to have someone else do all the accounting stuff for you?"

"I'm a big boy, Haley. I think I can handle addition problems for a couple of hours."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying. You're a manager and this is your father's business. You'd expect more people to be working behind the scenes."

"There are plenty of people working behind the scenes, I just haven't gotten the decency to communicate with them."

"Right," Haley nodded, picking up a few peanuts from the tray on his desk. "Well, I have positive feelings about this. We've been working really hard in the last few weeks to overcome those rumors and triple the sales in time."

"Yeah, but I'm still nervous."

Haley sighed, noticing the stress on Nathan's expression and reached over to place a hand on top of his.

"Don't be. I'm sure once you turn in those papers tonight, all the anxiety will go away."

"I hope so," he answered. "I really want to keep this place."

"Me too. I'm sure we all do."

Turning his hand around, he gently held hers in his palm, caressing the top of her soft skin with his thumb. Staring at it, he began to remember various memories from the past. It was the same hand that damaged his Porsche from their first meeting, it was the same hand that painted the beautiful murals on the walls of the café, it was the same hand that he made a pinky promise with, and it was the same one that held his during comforting times. He smiled at the thoughts and felt a familiar flicker in his chest at the thought of how much he truly loved that girl.

Noticing his distant stare and attractive grin, Haley asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"I was just thinking about all the things I had to go through to get to this point," he answered, looking up, his blue orbs meeting with her beautiful doe eyes. "And how I was able to have someone like you by my side to support me through it all. I don't think I would've achieved so much without you."

A warm sensation could be felt in her chest at those words. "And I don't think I would be this happy without you," she replied.

He chuckled softly and grabbed her hand to plant a kiss on top of it. "Thanks for the coffee and talk, but I have to apologize for kicking you out."

She scoffed. "Huh?"

"This is our a last day, woman. Get to serving!" he ordered.

Haley glared at him playfully and stuck her tongue out. "You're so bossy."

He laughed and shooed her away. "Go on. Get outta' here!"

"Hate you!" she cried out cheerfully as she stepped out of his office.

"I love you too!"

* * *

Later that night everyone was slowly leaving the coffee shop, making the 6 employees nervous about what was to come the following day.

"You think we made it?" Jake questioned, sitting next to Haley at one of the tables near the window.

"I hope so."

"Today was a pretty busy day. New people came."

"Yeah. I saw you get along with my friend Peyton," Haley smiled, remembering the moment Peyton Sawyer walked into the café. She had just come back from her trip in Europe. It was a big surprise to Haley. And at the same time, it was big opportunity for Jake.

"She's pretty cool," Jake nodded, acting like he wasn't impressed.

"Just _pretty cool_?"

"She was - was," he hesitated. "She was actually really nice and attractive."

Haley grew amused by the way Jake was acting. She felt like it was the right time for Jake to find someone else in his life. She promised that she would find someone better for him anyways.

"She's single, you know," Haley let out, elbowing him on the side.

"Are you trying to play matchmaker?"

"I don't know, maybe," she shrugged sheepishly.

"I see."

"If you want, I can talk to her for you. You know, slip in a few good words for my good friend, Jake."

The quiet brown haired boy chuckled at her offer and nodded. "If you don't mind?"

"I don't mind at all," she smiled.

"Hey!" Nathan called out from the stairs.

Both of them looked behind them and found their boss walking down the steps.

"Are you two flirting behind my back?"

"Oh here we go again," Clay complained as he swept the floors.

"Yeah, we're actually deciding on our wedding date this summer. So if you don't mind, we need some privacy to discuss this issue," Haley joked.

Nathan grimaced at her lame joke. "Ha Ha, very funny."

"I try."

"Well you guys, I sent it," Nathan began. "I just e-mailed the documents to my dad at his office. So we'll find out the results tomorrow. If he gets it sooner, maybe we'll know by tonight."

"Did you count the rest of it?" Haley questioned.

Nathan nodded, but he didn't look so happy about it. _Were the results bad? Or was it because it wasn't good enough? _

"So. . . .?" Tim asked. "What did you get?"

"From what I counted, we're a little bit below the number we were supposed to reach."

Feeling uneasy, Clay asked, "Does that mean your dad's going to shut the café down?"

"I don't know. I'm just praying that he won't."

* * *

**What did you think? You like? Keep me inspired! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: It's finally here! The last chapter for SSL. I apologize for the long wait! I am really happy to complete yet again another story. & it was so fun and amazing to write. I really appreciate all the motivation and loving words you've all left me. Every single one has made me smile and I really want to thank you all for giving me this opportunity to tell you a story about NALEY in this different world. I hope to come back with a new story soon. I don't know when though, but I'll let you all know! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Again, being my own critic, I'm a little iffy about it, but I really hope you do like it! Thank so much!  
**

**-An****nie**

**P.s. I wrote half of this chapter listening to Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely?" hehe. I thought it fit! Anyways. ****love you you lovely people!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 20 Final**

Haley was in the middle flipping the channels, surfing for something interesting to watch, when she looked over her shoulder to see what Nathan was up to. He was slouching over the kitchen counter staring at his cell phone intensely as if it was going to start moving or something. For the past couple of hours, he's been waiting impatiently for his dad to call him. It took Haley forever to make him leave the café, but she couldn't blame him for refusing. She didn't want to leave the place either, but in order to keep him relaxed and calm, they had to go home and rest. She even suggested that a good night sleep would make the night speed by, but she was wrong.

"Are you going to spend your precious time with your phone rather than me or should I just leave?"

He glanced up, zoning out from his trance, and smiled nervously at Haley. "Sorry. I just can't wait any longer. It's 1 am and he still hasn't called."

"Exactly. It's 1 am. I think your father is asleep right now. So just come over here on the couch and watch some TV with me." She patted the cushion beside her and grinned innocently.

Nathan looked at his phone once again and hesitated to step away. But he figured that staring at the inanimate object wasn't going to do anything, so he gave in and walked over towards his girlfriend.

"Aren't you a little bit stressed over this?" he asked, settling down next to her.

Content with him by her side, she shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "A little bit, but that's because I think the café will be fine."

"But the numbers- they're not-"

"It doesn't matter," she cut in. Turning her upper body towards him, she reached over to wrap her hands around his. "Didn't you see the progress we made this month after the rumors? The sales sky rocketed. Everyone came in every single day and every hour just to get a cup of coffee. They wanted to see us, greet us, and talk to us. Despite how critical and rude some of the customers were, we've worked our asses off to serve them well. Not only that, but we never gave up on each other. I have a feeling that your father has seen this success even if he hasn't said a word to you yet. With how much effort we put into this coffee house, I believe that we've accomplished a lot more than the number we've reached."

He felt a little less stressed after hearing her words of wisdom. She always had a way to make him feel better. Not only better, but worth it.

"Thanks."

"Any time."

"Who knew you'd be a good luck charm?"

She patted the top of his hand and smiled. "At first I was someone who gave you bad luck."

"You still do," he joked. He caught the glare on her face and added, "Sometimes. But I like it. It challenges me."

"Well I'm glad," she answered, confused. "I'll try to make up more ways to challenge you. Just give me the time and day."

He watched as she released her hands away from him and watched her pick up the remote again. Without glancing away, he examined her expressions as she surfed through the channels. The way she wrinkled her nose when she didn't like the show on the health channel made him laugh. He loved the fact that she didn't have to act cute because she was already cute. And the way she laughed out loud at the jokes of some comedian on Comedy Central made him feel glad that he found a girl who enjoyed raw humor and didn't hide her flaws. There was a never day where he regretted ever saving her, wanting her or loving her. Other guys wanted girls like Alex, while he liked girls like Haley. Simple, reckless, dorky, unstylish and beautiful.

"You have a real a habit of staring, you know?" Haley mumbled, the reflection of the television flickering on her face as she clicked the remote. "First your cell phone and now my ears. What is it with you?"

He shook his head and leaned forward, closer to her. Feeling the proximity between them, Haley stopped playing with the TV and turned to him shyly.

"What?"

Innocently he smiled and said, "I don't feel like watching television."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

From the way he was looking at her, his eyes a darker blue than usual, she knew exactly what he was thinking of. And it was kind of making her nervous. Ever since they started dating, all they've done was kiss and touch. They haven't done anything further than that. It's not like she hasn't had sex before. She was with Julian for a couple years, so it's certain that Haley wasn't a virgin. But it was different with Nathan. He made her feel complete even without doing the deed. She had really fallen for him, so hard that she was scared that he didn't love her as much as she loved him.

He may have said he loved her. But she loved him _more. _

Biting her lip as she was contemplating on what to do, she looked to the side and smiled mischievously. Nathan lifted an eyebrow, curious to know what she was planning. A few seconds later, she reached behind her, grabbed the couch pillow and swung it over to him, hitting him on the side of the head.

"HEY!" he complained. "That's not exactly what I was thinking of."

Jumping off the couch, she laughed and swung at him again. "Oh, I know what you were thinking of."

"So you're trying to avoid it, huh?" he grabbed the pillow next to him and climbed off the couch.

"Ever heard of foreplay?" she giggled.

Furrowing his eyes at her, he decided to play along. "C'mere!"

"Are you really going to hit me?" she questioned, her eyes wide as she watched him leap closer to her. She scurried backwards to get away.

"You started it. So you pay! I promise, it won't hurt!" he joked.

"Go away!" she screamed.

For the next ten minutes they played the innocent game of pillow war. Nathan was careful not to injure the girl since she wasn't a man, but Haley put all her strength in every hit. But eventually Nathan decided he had enough play. Standing before her, his arms and pillow ready to take the next swing, he dropped the pillow and strode forward to pick Haley up off her feet. Pushing her against the wall, he leaned in sensually to kiss her on the lips.

Surprised by the kiss, Haley held her grip on the pillow tightly, preparing to smack him with it, but once Nathan started asking for more, her fingers released the pillow and she tightened her arms around his neck. With her acceptance of his kiss, he took the opportunity to lead her towards the couch, starting up a heated up make out session. And one thing led to another, quickening the time and lessening the stress.

**

* * *

**

Clay watched Tim down another shot glass of alcohol as they dined together at one of their favorite late night bars with Jake. Throughout their rough process to get back on their feet at the café, the three guys grew even closer than before. But they still had the same hate-love relationship they formed a long time ago.

"I don't think you should drink yourself drunk. We might have to work tomorrow," Jake stated.

Clay waved at him and shook his head. "Let him drink. Work or no work tomorrow, he's going to regret it in the morning."

"Do I still have a job yet?" Tim slurred, slouching over the table, his hand under his chin. His other hand reached over to grab a lemon from the small tray in the middle and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Nathan hasn't called yet. But we'll know in the morning."

"I'm gonna miss that big ol' tard," Tim mumbled, his eyes slowly falling.

"You mean Percy?" Jake questioned.

"NO!" the drunkard snapped. "The big fat one. He makes coffee."

Clay rolled his eyes and reached over for a buffalo wing they ordered earlier. He bit it and glanced over his shoulder to see what was going on across the street. A couple familiar faces were seen from a far. They were obviously ogling their eyes at them. They've became such celebrities in the community. Clay didn't mind it all. He was single. Tim was an obvious an answer. But it looked like Jake was forming some kind of friendship with Haley's friend.

"She's kind of like a Haley 2.0, huh?"

Confused, Jake took a sip from his glass and placed it back down. "Who?"

"That curly blonde. She looks like your type. Sweet, tall, artistic. She's almost like Haley."

"We're just talking."

"You should try doing more than just talking," Clay suggested.

"Right, like I'd take dating advice from you."

"Hey, I'm a pro at getting girls. Watch." Clay turned back around towards the giggly girls across the street and waved them over to the outside patio they were sitting at. The girls didn't hesitate. They were at the side of the little black gate that separated them in just a few seconds. Jake watched him carefully as Clay winked twice at a few of the girls and nodded his head a couple of times. And by his surprise, the girls almost looked like they were going to melt in their shoes right there. Although Jake knew how popular he was amongst the female community and always believed it was quite annoying, he was impressed.

After talking with the girls and catching a few of their numbers, Clay turned back around and tucked the pieces of papers into his breast pocket.

"See?"

"I can't see!" Tim blurted out, his eyes shut, his cheek against the metal table.

Ignoring the guy, Jake responded with a not-so-impressed expression. "So what? You got their numbers. What's the point?"

Clay sighed deeply. "The point is that I just happened to get a hold of their hearts in just a few minutes. If you want some tips on how to get chicks, I'm you're guy. I know for sure that you won't be able to find anyone else like me."

"Except maybe Nathan."

"He doesn't count. He doesn't have skills either. Girls go to him without even trying. So you won't learn anything from him. Trust me."

"I don't want chicks anyways. I want a girl. And just one girl."

Clay nodded. "Well, I can do that for ya. I'm your man."

"I wanna learn," Tim managed to mumble, his eyes slightly open.

"Sure, why not."

Jake shook his head, amused by this ridiculousness and popped a few peanuts into his mouth. While chewing, he glanced at his watch and thought about the café and whether Nathan received the results yet.

"Do you think we'll have a job in the morning?"

Clay removed his focus off of picking at Tim's face and thought about the morning after. He shrugged sheepishly and said, "If we don't. I have a back up plan. I'll just play music and record an album."

"No, I'm serious. You think even though the number wasn't high enough, you think we did alright to stay?"

"I was being serious, but if you want something else, my answer is yeah. I think we did well enough to stay. If Mr. Scott doesn't see that, we'll just protest, I guess."

Jake chuckled a little bit. "I guess we'll see."

**

* * *

**

The morning after, Haley found herself lying in Nathan's bed. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Nathan's perfectly sculptured face snoozing right next to her like a little baby. It reminded her of the time she spilled water all over his face when she thought he was dead. He really was a deep sleeper. She could hardly hear him snore.

She smiled at the sight of him unconsciously licking his lips and reached over to traced her finger over his eyelashes to tickle him a little bit. Then she noticed how bare her arm was and then pulled her hand away. She glanced down at her chest, pulled the covers up and peeked inside. Immediately her eyes widened, she quickly tightened the blanket over her breasts.

_I'm really naked. But why I am so shocked? I was completely sober last night. I remembered everything. . . Maybe I lost my mind last night because of him. I kind of lost it. But I can't blame him. He was so damn sexy last night. But was I good? How well did I do? I'm probably the least of his expectations when it comes to physical activity. _

"If you're wondering why you're naked it's because we did it last night," she heard him mumble beside her.

She twitched at his voice and glanced at him. His eyes were still closed, but she found a small grin on his lips.

"Well of course I know we did _it_. I'm just a little self-conscious."

"Don't be," he stated, opening his eyes slowly.

"Nathan, I know you've been with plenty of other girls. I'm just a little less-"

"You're not less anything," he cut in. "Stop looking down at yourself. Whatever I saw yesterday was beautiful. Whatever I'm seeing right now is beautiful. All those girls you think I slept with can never compete with you. No one can, okay?"

"Really?" she questioned innocently, gripping the blanket tightly.

He smirked and nodded. "It's nothing but the truth."

Her cheeks burned at little and looked away bashfully. With her face turned away from him, she felt a sudden touch against her jaw line. Her eyes moved towards him as he caressed her softly with his cold hands. He then tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"How about a round three?" he suggested with a grin.

"Uh. . ." she began, but a loud buzz could be heard from downstairs. Immediately, both of them stiffened and looked at each other in panic. "That could be your father. HURRY! GET OUT OF BED AND ANSWER IT!"

Nathan quickly pulled away from her, but leaned back to grab a kiss for the morning and then he stood up to pull up a pair of sweats. Soon after, Haley watched as he swiftly ran across the room and down the stairs to answer the call. She laughed at the sight and decided to follow him as well. So she wrapped the whole blanket around her body and scurried her way down the stairs.

"Hello?" Nathan answered.

Haley tiptoed her way down as she craned her neck to listen to the conversation in the living room.

"Son, sorry if I disturbed you. It's a little too early for me to be calling you," Dan answered. Nathan checked the time on his digital clock hanging on the wall. _6:15 am. _He realized he only slept for three hours.

"No, it's not too early. I've been waiting for this call."

"I was going to call last night, but had no time. But I've made my decision."

"Okay . . . Then tell me!"

"Unfortunately you didn't reach the number I wanted you to accomplish," Dan began, making Nathan feel extraordinarily nervous. "But from what I've seen and heard in the past month about how passionate and hopeful you and your workers have been, I've decided that you could keep the cafe."

"What?" Nathan questioned in disbelief.

"I said Chivalry is safe. Did I stutter?"

"No . . . I'm just speechless right now. Did you just say that the café will stay?" he repeated.

In that instant, Haley began jumping on the stairs in excitement of the news.

"I wanted to see you work as a real businessman, Nathan. That's all I wanted. I wanted to see this journey as something more than money. It's about the passion you put into your work that really counts with me. And since the community has raved about how genuine and amazing Chivalry, I knew that you've really focused on being the man you needed to be. I'm proud of you son."

Hearing those words made the morning ten times better than before. It's all he wanted in the beginning. Everything just seemed too perfect.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Now go on. Make me proud."

The both exchanged goodbyes and Nathan finally hung up. He turned to Haley happily, a grin cemented on his face and sighed deeply.

"So we're fine?" she squealed, her eyes wide.

"Yeah," he nodded.

Again, Haley jumped in glee, holding the blanket over her body and rushed over to embrace Nathan's shirtless body. It wasn't cold like earlier. He was warmer. But she knew it was because he nervous and thrilled about the news.

"I knew it."

"You're an artist and a psychic, what else can you do?" he mumbled against her hair as he held her tightly to him.

"How 'bout we do a round three to celebrate?" she suggested, pulling away from him to give him a seductive look.

"That I don't mind." First he glanced at the clock to see the time and then quickly grabbed her hand. "We have enough time to get ready for work."

"We can tell the guys about the news after we celebrate."

He chuckled. "Sounds good to me," he smiled and leaned in for a kiss.

She giggled through his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. Soon the sheet wrapped around her fell to the ground, revealing her body.

"AH!" she screamed, pulling from him quickly to pick it up, but Nathan shook his head and stepped on it.

"What are you doing? We're not going to need that."

She scoffed and smirked. "Nathan!"

* * *

Alex was busy working at her boutique when one of her workers approached her with a stern look on her face. That wasn't a really good sign especially when she's been picking up some of the clothes from the store without getting caught.

"Alex, remember when I told you to keep a look out for people who've been taking our clothes?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Were you lying to me at that time?"

"Uh. . . I wasn't lying. I said that I'd look around."

"But you were the one who took the clothes. Am I right?"

"I'm- I was only borrowing them for a while."

"Borrowing them? They've been returned nor have you asked for permission!"

Outside, Julian was walking by during his lunch break when he over heard the conversation in the store. It was obvious that Alex was caught for her shop lifting deeds. He figured it was karma. But lately, she's been very quiet. She hasn't been going to the clubs late at night and he's recently found out that she's been helping Haley at the Chivalry. In fact, he heard the two had reconciled. He figured she was trying to her best to be a good person. And he didn't want her to get into any more trouble.

"I'm going to call the police on you, Alex. This is not right! To know that our own employee is taking things from the store makes us look bad! You're fired!"

"What?"

"I said you're fired and we're going to charge you for all those clothes you stole."

"I'll bring them back. I only used them once!"

"That doesn't matter, you stole and you need to pay for that!"

"I'll pay for it," Julian spoke up, stepping inside the store.

Alex turned to him confused. "Julian."

"I'll pay for the clothes. If that's what needs to be done, I'll do it. Just don't call the police on her. "

"Julian, you don't have to do that. I've put you through enough."

"No, it's okay. I don't mind. I'll do it just this one time."

Alex's manager scoffed and thought about the decision. She had her phone ready to call the police station. She really wanted Alex to get what she asked for.

"I don't think I'll let her loose like that."

"Look, you've already fired her. All that needs to be done is get the money you deserve for all the clothes she took."

The manager turned to Alex and asked, "How many have you stolen?"

"Uh. . . Like seven?"

"Seven!" Her manager's eyes widened and turned to Julian angrily. "Do you have any idea how much seven designer dresses cost?"

Julian glanced at Alex, disappointed and tried to hold in his shame. "I'll pay for it." He pulled out his wallet from his pocket and took his credit card out. "Here, charge it from my card."

"Julian. I'll go to jail for it. Don't do this."

"Alex, enough."

"Fine, but after this, I never want to see you around this store ever again," the manager ordered, staring at Alex intensely.

Alex nodded and put the hanger she was currently holding back on the rack. She watched her manager turn around and walk up to the counter to pay for all that she had stolen. Then she looked at Julian who was folding his wallet back into his pocket.

"I'm sorry."

"I warned you," Julian stated.

"I know, I'm just - - , I haven't stolen anything in a while. I guess I was just -"

"Stupid?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you know after this you won't be able to find a decent job. She's going to tell all these boutique stores about your situation."

"I know," she responded with her head down.

"You should've known when you stole that first dress."

"I really don't want to hear this lecture, Julian."

"Hey, I just helped you. You deserve a lecture from me."

"Here," the manager stated, handing the card back. "Do you want to know the price?"

"No, I'd rather not," he answered.

"Okay, now leave. I'll take care of all your papers myself."

Alex sighed deeply, her head down, obviously ashamed of what she did and stepped out of the store. She could hear some of the customers snickering around and talking about her like a bunch of cruel girls from high school. Julian hurried her out so she wouldn't hear all the gossip and grabbed her hand as they walked down the street.

She looked at it confused. "Julian, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to make you feel better."

"But -"

"Look, I know you're sorry. I'm sure you've been feeling that way for a while now especially after everything that's happened. But I figured, since it's all in the past now, we can be friends again."

"I don't deserve to be your friend."

"I'm not going to let you be alone. Let's just start over."

"Can you really do that?"

"If Haley can do it. I think I can too. Sometimes people need second chances."

Alex looked at him, unsure if it was a good idea. She believed that Julian wasn't really completely confident in his decision, but to hear that he was willing to try and make things work, made her feel a little less self-conscious. Like he said, Haley did it. He could too.

"So let's start over."

"As friends," she corrected.

Julian smiled, agreeing. "Yeah, as friends. Being in a relationship didn't work out for us."

"Obviously," she answered.

He chuckled and released his hand from hers to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "I heard there's good coffee at Chivalry."

"It's true. It really is."

"Then we should go there."

* * *

_Five months later. _

She pinned her bangs back and then dabbed a little bit of red lipstick on her lips. She glanced at herself one more time in the mirror before turning away to grab something from her closet. Inside, she pulled out a pretty large gift. It was wrapped in silver wrapping and a nice pink bow. It was something Vivian would like. After shutting her closet door with her foot, she walked into her little sister's room where a halfway filled suitcase was sitting on the floor. Vivian was finally accepted to NYU. With the help of her family, Anthony, and scholarships, she was able to find a way to get in.

"Here," Haley stated. "It's a present for you."

Vivian walked out of her closet with arms full of clothes and dropped them on the bed.

"You got me a present?"

"I figured it'd be something to remember me by."

Her little sister picked up the package and glared at her sister. "Don't tell me it's paint or coffee grains, if it is, just keep it."

Haley scoffed and threw a sock at her sister. "Hey, I made it."

"Do you want me to open it now?"

"Sure if you want to, but I'd rather you open it when you get to New York."

"I'll just open it now." Vivian sat at the edge of her bed and pulled the bow off. Haley just rolled her eyes at how stubborn her sister was and watched her open it. Pieces of gift wrap fell to the floor when Vivian finally revealed what the present was. "Wow," she gasped. She picked up the medium sized canvas and smiled at the painting of the three women on it. "When did you make this?"

"I've been working on it for a couple of months now."

"Impressive," she nodded. "I love it!"

"Really? I was going to just buy you make up since you love make up and all, but I thought this was more meaningful. You won't be seeing us every day now since you're going to be gone most of the year."

"This is so much better than make up," Vivian smiled, carefully placing the canvas back on the bed to hug her older sister. "Thank you!"

"Anytime. I know how much you hate my way of dressing, but I know for a fact that you'll miss seeing me walk around in what you call 'disastrous'," she stated, holding her sister tightly.

Parting from her, Vivian nodded. "You're right. I'm really going to miss it."

"Well, I'm going to finish up getting ready and I guess I'll meet up with you and mom at the gallery?"

"Duh, where else am I going to go?"

"I don't know," Haley shrugged. "Are you bringing Anthony with you?"

"Yeah, after he's done working on some lame geek project."

"I can't believe you still call your boyfriend a geek."

Vivian scoffed and placed her hands on her hips in disbelief. "Excuse me! He's not my boyfriend."

"It looks like it. You guys spend almost every second with each other. If it's not that, I think you have a thing for him."

"I do not!"

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Oh hush!" Vivian whined, pushing her older sister out the door. She was in no mood to bicker with her sister. But she had to admit that Haley was sort of on the right track. Anthony started looking cute these days. She wasn't sure if it was the way he started cleaning himself up a bit or the fact that she saw past his image. But somehow, she didn't want to admit it. Anthony wasn't exactly her type. Going from Clay Evans to Anthony? Only time will tell how everything goes especially since he's also attending NYU since it's closer to the business he wants to work at,

Haley chuckled, amused by how flustered her little sister became at the mention of Anthony. She couldn't help but joke about it. She's never seen her little sister so fond of someone like that before. It was a good thing though. She really hated seeing her sister mope around because of Clay. He was a nice guy and all, but he wasn't the guy Vivian deserved. Anthony was the perfect guy to help Vivian become a better person. They were opposites, but they were perfect opposites.

She went back into her room, stepped into some really comfortable heels, snatched her purse from her closet, and then exchanged goodbyes with her mom and sister before heading out the door. The reason why she was heading out earlier than everyone else was because she needed to fix a few last minute things before they opened the gallery for the show.

For the past five months, she's been busy organizing this event non stop. With the hours of working at the café and Paint Shop, it was hard to juggle meetings with the people who were in charge of the show and the building. But it was all well worth it. And she had Nathan to thank for that. Without him, she wouldn't have reached this success. Once she revealed her final product of the painting, he immediately thought that she deserved to flaunt her talent. She's done so much for him. Now it was his turn to return the favor. So he sneakily called up some important people his father was associated with to help broaden her career. Some of these people were wealthy people who loved art of any kind and were really big bidders. They knew art and they took it seriously. Just like Nathan, Mr. Kim and every person involved in Haley's life, they were impressed by her pieces. So impressed that they asked if it was possible to buy her work.

Haley wasn't exactly happy that Nathan did this behind her back. In fact, she was completely furious that he would take advantage of her and show her pieces without her permission. But once he told her how much they were willing to offer for her paintings, she stopped complaining and apologized for scolding him.

Nathan didn't want them to just buy her work and be done with it. He tried to persuade them to give her a full art show. One that showed every single painting she's ever made. It was her dream to be able to have that. And he was going to do all he could to make that happen. And fortunately, he was able to convince them enough to give her the best present anyone has ever given her. An art show.

"Well, lookie here, Miss Fancy Painter James," Peyton greeted as Haley entered the gallery after a short drive from her house. "And you look absolutely stunning!"

Haley blushed at the compliment. "I tried. I am going to be the center of attention tonight."

"Aint that right. You're going to be every where. On this wall and that wall," Peyton pointed out, stretching her arms out to show her the white rooms filled with many of her paintings.

Even Haley was the creator of these master pieces, she was still speechless that they were all hung up on these walls. Sometimes she felt like they weren't good enough yet. It was just amateur paintings, but people loved them enough to give her a full show.

"I'm nervous," Haley stated as Peyton led her around.

"Don't be."

"Well that's easy for you to say. You've done this plenty of times."

"Only five."

"That's more than me."

Peyton smiled and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Come on, let's get this place ready for your big show, missy. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I've ever been."

* * *

"Where should I put the balloons?" Tim questioned, holding a dozen helium balloons in his hands.

Percy adjusted his tie in front of the mirror and glanced at the boy. "You look like you can fly away with those."

"She deserves this many."

"Are you trying to get rid of her?"

"No, you old fart. I'm trying to congratulate her so once we come back here after the show, we can all celebrate."

"The same old, Tim. Always trying to get Haley's heart," Clay stated, shaking his head while he cleaned up one of the tables.

"Too bad it's already taken," Nathan stated, waiting patiently by the door. "By me."

All of the guys were taking their precious time decorating the café in order to surprise Haley for her success. Without her, none of them would be where they were now. She's the reason why Tim became the sweet boy he was now. He was still a trouble maker but he was kinder and appreciated people more without judging their actions. Clay became more interested in a past love, music. Because of her support and motivation, he was able to get back into the zone and stand on stage without being scared. Jake was able to overcome his one-sided love over her and move on to someone he deserved. She helped him realize that a man and a woman can still be friends and that there will always be someone out there for him. She's the reason why he met Peyton. Percy, well Percy was always the same. Sweet, gentle, and lazy. But because of Haley, he was able to bare all the criticism he received from Nathan and Tim and the guys. She was the comfort he needed when no one believed in him. He was in charge of the coffee after all. Without him, there would be no Chivalry. And lastly, she gave Nathan something he never thought he'd get from her. Love. Support. Happiness. She was everything that he wanted and everything he asked for. Because of Haley, he was able to feel like he was worth it. When his parents had no belief in him nor thought he could make it out there, she was there to convince him that he could prove them wrong. Despite how reckless and naïve she could be, she helped him succeed. And she helped him to love. And vise versa.

"Now come on, we don't want to be late," Nathan stated, hurrying the guys.

Jake and Clay finished stapling the banner against the wall while Percy placed the cake in the fridge. Once everything was hidden and fixed, they all headed out to meet up with Haley at her show.

It didn't take long for everyone to arrive. But it was hard to find a parking space since the place was packed. It was incredible how many people came to the event. Nathan could just imagine Haley's face right now. Rosey cheeks. Soft smile. Eyes wide like she's surprised all the time. He chuckled at the thought.

But eventually they were able to find a spot and entered the place. From left to right, people were gazing and admiring every small and large piece on the walls. Others were eating some of the hor d'oeuvres while others were silently negotiating whether to bid on a certain piece or not. It was terrific.

"You came finally!" Haley called out from the center room.

All the guys smiled at the sight of the beauty and greeted her with tight hugs and compliments.

"Everything looks amazing, Haley!" Jake stated.

"Yeah, it's kind of overwhelming."

"A good overwhelming or bad?" Clay questioned.

"Oh, good! Definitely good!" she answered nervously.

They all chuckled at her reaction. They knew that Haley wasn't used to being the center of attention, but it was nice to see her beauty flaunted out there. Not just in her physical appearance, but in her talent.

"Don't be so nervous," Nathan stated, hugging her to his side. "Everyone loves it. I love it."

She sighed deeply and smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I know. . . I'm just - I can hardly believe this is happening."

"Incredible, huh?" Peyton questioned, stepping up beside the group. "It feels good to know that people appreciate your work."

"Yeah."

* * *

Soon the art show began to slowly ended. Everyone greeted and complimented Haley on every piece hung on the walls. About half of them were bought and because of that, she was able to gain enough money to pay half of Vivian's college tuition. It was like she was given a gift that she used up in order to give someone else something. She never thought of keeping the money for herself. Not once. Her sister and her mother needed it more.

Afterwards, everyone met up at the café where they held a small after party for Haley. She was touched by how much work and effort they put into decorating the place just for her. She just couldn't believe how she was able to gain such amazing friends in her life. Before, nothing ever seemed to be in sync for her, but now, now she was able to breathe easier and see straight. She no longer had to worry about being alone. Because she had her family and friends. And the community.

While everyone was busy enjoying themselves by drinking and eating the cake Percy made, Haley decided to take a step outside for a little bit of fresh air. She wanted to soak in the moment and savor it.

She took in a warm summer breath and glanced over her shoulder to look inside the café. Smiles could be seen and laughter could be heard. Those who never liked each other were talking to each other. Some who've never met were getting to know each other. And others who were romantically paired up were growing more and more chemistry between each other. It was just a perfect scene to see the people she adored together in one room.

"Hey, what are you doing out here? We need the guest of honor," her mother stated, stepping outside.

Haley smiled at the sight of her gorgeous mother and shrugged. "I just needed some air."

"Overwhelming, huh?" she questioned.

"Yeah, just a little bit."

Lydia walked up to her eldest daughter and glanced behind her to see the chaos inside the café.

"It's interesting how things turn out. Seeing old friends with new friends. And old loves with new loves."

"Who knew putting both together could be so chaotic," Haley joked.

"But at least everything's worked out between all of you."

"Yeah."

Lydia looked away from the window and observed her daughter for a moment. She placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "You know, I'm proud of you."

"You told me all day, mom," Haley answered, acting like she was annoyed but really wasn't.

"I know, but I really want you to now that I really am. Your father would be proud of you too," she added. "If only he was here to see that."

Haley really wished for the same thing. It hurt a little that he wasn't able to see her accomplishments and experience them with her, but she remembered that he never left her. His spirit was always there. When he passed away, it seemed like she was missing something. Like that father figure was gone and could never be found. But ever since she joined her Chivalry family, she was able to find that comfort again. With the combination of Jake, Tim, Clay, Percy, and Nathan, she found the missing piece she prayed for everyday. These men were able to give her the same comfort a father would give to his child. Support, laughter, wisdom, company, and love. It felt like she never lost her father. It's not like these men replaced him, but the feeling and spirit they brought into her life made her believe that her father brought them here to protect her. To take care of her. Like it was written that way.

"I wish he was here too," Haley stated. "But he's always here.'

Lydia leaned in closer to plant a gentle kiss on her daughter's cheek and hugged her tightly to her side.

"I love you so much," Lydia mumbled into her daughter's hair. "You and Vivian, both."

"I love you too, mama."

During their little mother-daughter moment, they heard someone clear their throat loudly behind them. Looking over their shoulders, they found Nathan standing there bashfully.

"Ms. James, Mr. Percy's asking for you."

Haley smirked at her mother, mocking her for trying to flirt with one of her co-managers.

"What?" Lydia questioned, catching her daughter's expression.

"Nothing. Go on," Haley answered, parting from her mother's embrace. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Oh, right. The same goes for you," Lydia replied, pointing between her and Nathan. Haley just rolled her eyes before her mother patted her on the shoulders and walked back inside. Nathan chuckled to himself. He also knew what was going on between her and Mr. Percy. It was cute and weird at the same time.

He placed his hands in his pockets and strode towards Haley's side.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's perfect."

"So why are you having this emo moment outside?"

She scoffed and playfully slapped him with the back of her hand. "I'm just thinking. It's been such a long day. My sister's leaving for college tomorrow and it's just . . ."

"Overwhelming? I know, you've said it billion times today."

"Wow, are you trying to irritate me on my special day?"

He smirked. "No. I'm just stating the truth."

"Well state the truth elsewhere," she pouted.

Nathan chuckled and shook his head as he pulled her to his side. "You know I'm just kidding. I love you too much to ruin your day."

"That's a lie," she answered. "You still manage to ruin my day despite how much you love me. I mean, seriously, the other day, you made me men's bathroom!"

He smiled at that. It was always Tim's or Clay's duty to clean the men's restroom, but he wanted to joke around with her and made her do it. Just for fun.

"It was funny."

"It was disgusting," she snapped.

He chuckled to himself and pulled her towards him. His hands wrapped around her waist and vise versa. She smiled when he tucked a piece of hair from her face and held him tighter.

"I really love you, you know that?"

"Psh, I love you more."

"I know this may seem sudden, but would you ever consider getting married again even though you went through all of that with Julian and Alex?"

Her eyes widened at the question and looked down nervously. "I don't know. Maybe someday."

"Okay," he nodded. "Here's my next question. Would you consider marrying me someday?"

In that moment, she could feel her cheeks burn, her pulse race and goose bumps forming on her body.

"Are you proposing?"

"I'm proposing a proposal. You know, just to make sure you'll accept it."

A grin was seen on her lips instantly. She didn't know what to say, so the only answer she could give him was a passionate kiss on the lips. She leaned, tilted her head to give him one of the best kisses he's ever had. When they parted, he had to take a few seconds to find his sight again.

"I guess that's a yes?" he questioned.

"No, it's a maybe."

He groaned and poked her playfully on the nose.

"When I'm ready, you'll definitely be the one I'll marry," she explained.

Nathan sighed deeply and embraced her tightly against his chest. He was so thrilled that she was able to give him an answer already.

"Come on, let's go back inside," he suggested, separating from the hug and linking their hands together.

Once they both headed back inside, Vivian came running forward with a pieces of cake in her hands and smashed it all over Haley's face causing a huge mess.

"Oh my gosh," Haley gasped.

"I couldn't leave without doing that at least once," Vivian smirked.

"Well, I'm going to get you back!" Haley wiped off the dessert from her face and wiped it all over her little' sister's face. Then she grabbed some more and took the time to spread it over Nathan's face by surprise.

"Hey!" he snapped.

"You look kind of sexy," she joked.

"Really? You think so?"

She wiggled an eyebrow and tip toed up to kiss him on the lips again. A few seconds later, Mr. Kim finished using the restroom and walked out as he wiped his hands dry. On his way back to his table, he past the dirty faced Haley and smiled.

_"She's so lovely_," he chuckled, pointing at her as everyone laughed with him.

* * *

**=)**


End file.
